


Shrink

by Zawiii



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-25
Updated: 2017-08-10
Packaged: 2018-10-24 01:18:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 34
Words: 64,864
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10731177
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zawiii/pseuds/Zawiii
Summary: When patients of a psychiatrist that caters exclusively to hunters start going crazy and dying, Sam and Dean Winchester investigate what might be causing these bizarre episodes.





	1. Chapter 1

“I can still hear them, Dr. Barnes. Every night. The screaming...the crying...” This was the second time Adrian Booth was sitting in the doctor’s office this week, eleventh time this month. “When I first started doing this six years ago, I never thought it would be affecting me like this. It was supposed to be just a regular job," Adrian closed his eyes and rested his elbows on his knees. "Every time I close my eyes, all I can see is their lifeless bodies. All I can smell is the thick iron stench of their blood. It’s all my fault.” Adrian’s chest heaved as he slammed his head into his palms and started to weep.   
“Adrian, it’s not your fault. You didn’t kill those children, and you know that. You can’t save everyone, but when you killed that witch, you saved the lives of so many more children that would have been killed by her. This life can be hard on everyone, including those that reach out to help hunters,” Dr. Barnes said, glancing at the devil’s trap on the floor under the door to her office. “But as long as there’s a need, I won’t be going anywhere. We’re going to get you through this.”  
Adrian looked up at her, tears in his eyes. “Thank you, Dr. Barnes. You’re helping me in ways that I never even thought were possible,” he said, his breath shaking. Staring at his ripped jeans and stained flannel shirt, he took a deep breath in and sharply blew it out. "I'm a mess. I haven't showered in days, as you probably can smell," he said, chuckling nervously. "My wife left me because I'm too much to handle. I don't know if I'm angry because I'm sad or I'm sad because I'm angry." Adrian stuck his finger into the small hole already in his jeans, making it bigger. "I just want my life back, doc. I want my wife again."  
"I'm not here to judge you Adrian. I'm here to help you work through what is troubling you, so we can get to the bottom of what's really hurting you. I can tell you love your wife, and keeping this lifestyle from her might be causing you both more pain than it prevents. Believe me, if my husband got mysterious calls and disappeared for days, I would think he's cheating...not hunting monsters." Dr. Barnes smiled shyly while flipping over the notebook that was resting in her lap. She checked her watch, letting her eyes rest on the gold band on her ring finger for maybe a tad longer than usual. “It seems our time is up, Adrian. I really think we’re making some excellent progress.”  
“I really hope so. I’d like to be able to sleep again,” Adrian exclaimed, letting out a light chuckle while shaking his head. “Thanks again, Doc.” Adrian reached out his hand toward Dr. Barnes as he got up from the black leather chair.  
“My pleasure, Adrian. I’ll see you next week,” she said as she stood up out of her chair and shook Adrian’s hand. Standing a few inches short of six feet and slender, Dr. Barnes ran her hands down the front of her skirt, smoothing it back down.  
They both walked over to the door, Adrian leading. Adrian opened the door to the waiting room, stopping for a moment as he looked out the windows, realizing it was already dark outside. He turned and smiled at Dr. Barnes before he about-faced and shuffled out of the office.  
Leaning against the door frame, Dr. Barnes let out a heavy sigh and began to rub her eyes. “Anyone else, Natalie?”  
“No, Dr. Barnes. That’s it for the day,” a voice said, coming from the front of the office.  
Dr. Barnes looked up, tucking a lock of raven black hair back behind her ear. “I’ve told you this before, Natalie. After all the patients are gone, please call me Ellen.”  
“Okay, Dr. Barnes.” Natalie said, peering her head over the top of the wall toward the front of the office, smiling.  
Dr. Barnes shook her head and smiled. “You can head out, Natalie. I’m just going to do some case notes and then get out of here, myself.”  
“Okay, thank you Dr. Bar- I mean Ellen.” Natalie stood up out of her chair and slid her bag over her shoulder. A tall and heavyset woman, standing six feet tall; there was a reason Dr. Barnes chose her as a receptionist. She’s as kind as can be, but takes no crap from anyone. Don’t let the blonde hair and blue eyes fool you; get on her bad side and you will be on the floor in a headlock before you can spell "Rugaru". It's nice to have someone on staff that can handle the troubled individuals that pass through this office when they get unruly. Natalie came out from behind her desk and waved at Dr. Barnes before leaving through the white frosted glass doors at the front of the room.  
Dr. Barnes took a moment to look over her office. The lines of salt on the inside of each windowsill in the front, the devil’s trap she knew was under the large “Welcome” mat in front of Natalie’s desk, and of course the pure silver trim on the desks and chairs. The last thing she needed was some monster ruining the good she was doing here. She’s been open for almost 3 years, helping as many hunters as she could dealing with the psychological aftermath of loss, trauma, and just all around evil.   
After losing her husband to a werewolf 4 years ago, Dr. Barnes left the cushy private practice she was in and began to research…or rather obsess…over the monster that had killed her husband. She will always remember its large green eyes and long revolting claws as it was tearing into him, still hating herself for not trying to help every time she remembers. Through her research, she was able to gather hunters who helped her track down the werewolf that killed her husband so she could take her revenge. After about two and a half months of searching, she finally was able to get it. She felt better…for about fifteen minutes after the wolf was taken down. Her husband was still dead, she had no job, and she was all alone. The hunter she was with, Adam Sorrell, invited her back to his cabin for a cup of coffee and to chat.   
Over the next several weeks, he taught her a plethora of things about hunting, monsters, and other evil beings that walk the Earth. In return, she helped him work through his depression and was able to get him to stop using alcohol as a way for him to sleep at night. Seeing how much she helped him, she decided to open up an office in Tulsa, Oklahoma to help other hunters dealing with the same psychological issues. It was slow-going at first…you can’t really advertise therapy for monster hunters without appearing like you need some help yourself; but over the last 3 years, she has seen and helped over 500 hunters from all over the United States. They can’t pay her much, if anything at all (and she refuses to accept stolen credit cards, no matter how many times you tell her your name really is Axl Rose), but she does accept the occasional firearm, bottle of whiskey, or amulets and charms. Her savings and her husband’s life insurance policy also help offset some of her operating costs and keep the lights on. Her husband's legacy once kept her from self-destructing, so she pays it forward and helps those that feel they have nobody to turn to when they're lost.  
Gently shaking her head and smiling about how far she’s come, she turns and walks back into her office, closing the door behind her. She sat at her 100-year old oak desk that she was told was “mostly pretty much not haunted anymore”, and flips open a yellow folder labeled “A. BOOTH” and begins to write, glancing at her notebook every few minutes to remember information about the session she just had with Adrian.


	2. Chapter 2

Eyes still red and puffy, Adrian sped down the highway, headed to the no-star motel hell he's called home for the last 3 weeks. The pay-per-view and mini bar were the only things he had to look forward to. He stared at his hands gripping the steering wheel, alarmed by how dirty and unkept they really were. "Just like my truck had become", he thought as he looked at the dozens of fast food wrappers and cups scattered all over his truck. He slid his right hand to the bottom of the wheel and rested his left hand on his left leg. Absently fidgeting at his wedding ring, his eyes shifted and he noticed an advertisement for a liquor store on a billboard, "Luna's Liquors - Next Exit". Shaking his head and feeling the familiar warmth of tears sliding down his cheeks, he flicked his turn signal and crossed over to the right lane, ready to take the next exit.

Adrian pulled into a parking spot on the side street next to the liquor store. He sat there for what felt like an eternity, car still idling. "Just this once, I just need it to stop", he mumbled, shutting off the engine of his pick-up truck and sliding the keys into his jacket pocket. He could feel the tears welling up in his eyes again as he angrily slammed both his hands on the steering wheel. Only thinking about his wife, he aggressively opened his car door and stepped outside, slamming the door behind him. It was a cold November evening, colder than Adrian remembered after leaving Dr. Barnes' office. He shook off the chill that seemed to pierce his bones and zipped up his jacket, making his way across the street.

The sidewalk was abnormally busy for a Thursday evening; but getting close to the holidays, it was to be expected. Adrian was walking against the flow of people, having to dodge bulky coats, shopping bags, and lethargic husbands being dragged around by their materialistic wives. He remembered what that was like, feeling a lump start forming in his throat, he would give anything to be brought shopping with his wife again.   
As he was rounding the corner to the entrance of the liquor store, he bumped shoulders with several people walking in a line in a large group. "Well excuse me, rat pack." Adrian grumbled sarcastically as he regained his footing, brushing his jacket off with his hands.  
"Calm your pubes, grandpa", one of the people from the group said back, causing several people to laugh quietly as the group moved off.  
"Assholes," Adrian said as he turned back around and opened the door to the liquor store.

After being hit with the familiar smell of whiskey and sadness as he walked in, he traded soulful looks with the clerk behind the counter.   
"Can I h-help you find something, uh, sir?" the clerk stammered, after noticing Adrian's bloodshot eyes.  
"Silence," Adrian said, reading the clerk's name tag. "I want silence, Jimmy."   
Right as Adrian was about to ask the clerk for help finding some whiskey, he noticed his vision started to blur, colors began to blend together, as light seemed to be overwhelming his brain. He grabbed his head in reflex and let out a soft groan, collapsing to his knees.  
"You okay, dude?" Jimmy said, placing his hands on the counter and propping up so he can get a better look at Adrian.  
Flopping over to his side, Adrian looked up at Jimmy with a scared and confused stare. His vision still blurry, he felt cornered and in danger, like an injured antelope being cornered by a lion. Going off pure instinct, Adrian fumbled around the bottom of his pant leg for the knife he keeps in his boot holster. Yanking it out, he flailed and scrambled into a sitting position, backing up against one of the coolers by the side of the store. Tears began to stream down his face again while he stared off into the distance, opening his eyes as wide as can be, but wincing at how bright the store had seemed to become.  
He wasn't hearing the screams or cries of the children anymore. He was hearing one voice. A voice that had pierced through the wailing and crying. It was his wife.  
"You're so pathetic, Adrian." she said, practically screaming at him. "I can't believe I ever married such a failure like you. You've been keeping secrets from me, all because you think I can't handle it. I thought we were in this TOGETHER. You're such a selfish prick."  
"N...nooo...Jennifer...please...you can't think that." Adrian muttered to himself, still clutching his knife in his fist, rubbing his head with both knuckles as he pulled his legs in close to him and began rocking back and forth.  
"But I can think that. You're such a sad man." Jennifer's voice hissed back at him. "I knew you would never amount to anything. Why do you think I told you I couldn't have kids? Oh, that's right. I can have kids. I just couldn't force myself to have kids with YOU."  
Adrian tightened the grip on the knife in his right hand, slamming his left fist down on the ground, feeling the familiar tingle of pain shoot up his arm.  
"You BITCH! I knew you lied to me!" Adrian screamed, his face now a deep crimson red.  
Jimmy had made his way across the front of the store over near Adrian, watching in horror and confusion as this man seems to be unraveling in his store. He crouched down next to him, asking him if he was alright. Adrian didn't reply, just kept rocking back and forth.  
Jimmy placed a hand on Adrian's shoulder and softly whispered "Hey, dude...who are you yelling-"  
Before Jimmy could finish his sentence, Adrian had his left hand wrapped around his throat as tight as he could, ignoring the pain coming from his wrist. Jimmy grabbed a hold of Adrian's arm, pulling and pushing while struggling to breathe, staring at Adrian with a terrified look. Adrian propelled himself off the ground, still squeezing down on Jimmy's neck. Feeling his grip get tighter and tighter as Jimmy kept struggling, he could feel the bones in Jimmy's neck start to crack and pop like small twigs.  
"I am not a failure! This is your fault! ALL OF THIS!" Adrian screamed, hearing it echo in the empty store. Feeling the weight of the knife in his hand, Adrian felt so angry...so...hurt...at everything that has happened. He could feel the tingle of rage flow all over his body, intoxicating him...filling every sense he had with blind hatred. He heard his wife laugh at him and call him pathetic once more before he stepped back and forcefully slammed Jimmy on the ground, hearing a loud crack as his head hit the concrete floor.   
"P...please....no...." Jimmy said weakly as he looked up at Adrian.  
Adrian stared back, absently shifting his position to tower over him, a dark look of bloodlust in his eyes.  
"All of my problems came from you!" he screamed, as he slammed his knife into Jimmy's chest, feeling the knife tear through his clothing and bounce off one of his ribs. Jimmy let out a weak yelp, as tears started to slide down the side of his face.  
Adrian ripped the knife back out and continued stabbing, feeling the knife get slicker with each jab. Now on the floor, straddling the blood soaked boy, he began to laugh. He laughed harder and harder with each thrust of the knife, feeling the warm splatter of blood splash against his face and begin to soak his clothing.  
Feeling no more resistance when he plunged his knife, Adrian stood up and looked down at the heap of shredded meat, bone, and blood that was once the store clerk, taking in a deep breath and smiling. All he could hear was the sound of his blood pumping and rumbling through his ear drums as he wiped off his knife with his already blood soaked shirt. He turned around and was face to face with two police officers standing at the entrance of the store, screaming at him and pointing their guns. Still deafened by the loud thumping in his ears, Adrian could not hear them; their voices coming across as a soft murmur in between each thump.  
Adrian shifted toward them, the smile still on his face, as gunfire erupted...followed by a loud thud on the ground.


	3. Chapter 3

“I hear you, man.” Dean grumbled, eyes still closed, his body wrapped up in blankets on his bed. Switching the cell phone from his right to left hand, he tilted his head to look at the alarm clock resting on the nightstand next to his bed, blinking rapidly until he could make out the numbers – “8:14am”. Flinging off the covers and sitting up in his bed, he rubbed his eyes and let out a long yawn; he had just gone to bed four hours ago. “Hang on a second,” he said as grunted and propelled himself out of bed, pausing a moment to stretch his arms and legs before he shuffled over across the room to the sink. “Like 3 weeks ago, me and Sam were knee deep in vamp corpses, but ever since then it’s been quiet.” Dean looked at himself in the mirror, scratching at the longer-than-usual stubble on his chin. “Too quiet, if you ask me.”  
“Yeah, bro. It’s like someone slipped a roofie into the water supply for the entire country and it only affects monsters,” a voice replied on the other end of the phone.  
Raising an inquisitive eyebrow at his phone, Dean grabbed his electric razor that was sitting on the side of the sink.  
“I…guess you could think of it like that, Rick.” Dean replied. He glanced at his razor, then back at the stubble on his face. Dean smiled, and set his razor back down. “Sam has his eyes glued to his laptop as usual, so if anyone drops in your neck of the woods, we’ll give you a call.”  
“Thanks, man. Tell Sam I said whatup.” Rick cheerfully replied.  
Dean rolled his eyes and hit the “end call” button on his phone, throwing it gently back onto his bed. Still only in his boxers and a t-shirt, he slipped his robe off the hook next to his door and slid it on. He snatched his phone off his bed, sliding it into the robe pocket, walked over to the door, and opened it slightly before stopping and side stepping over to put on the slippers that were on the floor in front of his dresser. The bunker is climate controlled, but the floors are still concrete and get very cold, especially in late fall. Swinging the door open, Dean stepped through it and walked down the hallway, headed to the kitchen.  
As he rounded the corner a few steps away from the kitchen, Dean was greeted by the familiar savory smell of fresh coffee brewing. Breathing in deeply and smiling, Dean continued down the hallway and took a sharp turn into the kitchen. Practically leaping down the small set of steps that lead down from the doorway, he bounded over to the coffee maker on the right side of the room. Pulling the glass coffee pot from the brewer, he grabbed a ceramic coffee cup, twirling it around with his finger before setting it on the counter and pouring the coffee.  
“Well good morning to you, too.” Sam said, looking up at Dean from behind his laptop at the table in the kitchen.  
“Shhhh. Not before my coffee.” Dean replied in a whisper. He raised the cup to his lips and blew before taking a sip. “Ooohh, man. That’s good,” he said to himself before taking several more sips.  
Sam smiled and shook his head. “Do you two need some time alone? I can leave if yo-“  
“Shut up.” Dean replied, cutting him off. He turned around and leaned back against the counter, facing Sam. “Anything?” Dean said, gesturing to Sam’s laptop.  
“Nothing. I’ve been up for two hours searching and there’s nothing. I had two other hunters reach out asking if we have anything for them.” Sam replied while picking up and checking his phone. “Make that three hunters. Heather just texted me.”  
“Yeah,” Dean said, taking a sip of his coffee. “Rick woke me up asking if we knew of any jobs near him because he’s coming up dry as well.”  
“Doesn’t this seem odd to you?” Sam asked, leaning back in his chair, running his fingers through his hair. “Unless all monsters were somehow eradicated out of the US a few weeks ago…”  
“Hey, I’m enjoying the break. I haven’t worn pants in 6 days.” Dean said, taking another sip from his coffee. “You heard from Cas?”  
“Yeah, he’s on his way to Sioux Falls to visit Claire. Apparently the Grigori sword she stole-“  
“Commandeered.” Dean interrupted, smiling.  
Sam sighed, “‘Commandeered’” he said, doing air quotes with his fingers. “-has some Enochian spell work etched into it that the angels want to study and research. The sword is hidden from the angels due to that spell work, or so they assume, and it’s peaked their interest.”  
Dean scoffed and shrugged. “I guess the angels are bored, too.”  
“Yeah, I guess so.” Sam replied, his voice drifting off as he went back to typing and clicking on his laptop. “I left you some eggs and made some bacon, by the way.” He said, not moving his eyes from the laptop.  
Dean perked up, looking over at the counter in front of the stove, eyes darting left and right before he located the plate of eggs and bacon. He rushed over and grabbed the plate and a fork off the counter before quickly returning to the table and sitting down opposite Sam.  
He scooped up a big heap of eggs and was about to put it into his mouth when he looked up at Sam, who was currently staring at him with raised eyebrows and a half smirk on his face.  
“What did you do to these?” Dean said, setting the fork back down.  
“Nothing!” Sam replied, somewhat offended Dean would think he sabotaged his food.  
“Mmm-hmm.” Dean replied, narrowing his eyes at Sam.  
Right as Dean took a cautious bite of the eggs on his plate, Sam’s computer emitted three dings.  
“Finally.” Sam said with a smile, rubbing his hands together before rapidly typing. “I think we got a case.”  
“Where abouts?” Dean mumbled, chewing away.  
“Glenpool, Oklahoma…a small town just south of Tulsa. Guy went crazy and stabbed a liquor store clerk to death before being shot by police. Security footage shows the guy collapsing on the floor before he sat up and started rocking back and forth.” Sam clicked twice and kept reading. “The clerk came over to him and the guy just freaked out, choking and stabbing him. Apparently the whole attack was so brutal, they didn’t include it in the report they posted, nor are they releasing the name until they can notify next of kin. It also says the guy was smiling when he lunged at them with a knife.” Sam said, scrolling through the rest of the police report. “It could be nothing…just a run-of-the-mill guy who snapped…”  
“Is it ever nothing, Sammy? I’ll get dressed.” Dean said, quickly heaving the remaining heaps of eggs into his mouth before grabbing his cup of coffee and getting up from the table. After Dean passed through the doorway and on his way down the hall, Sam yelled “And shave your face, dude! You look like a homeless person,” hearing his voice echo down the hallway.  
“A very handsome, badass, homeless person!” Dean yelled back, smiling.  
Sam shook his head and rolled his eyes as he stood up from the table and lifted his laptop, balancing it on his arm as he walked out of the kitchen.


	4. Chapter 4

Sam looked up from his laptop, sitting in the passenger’s seat of the Impala, scanning the road ahead...his eyes burning from staring at his computer for too long. He straightened up in his seat, feeling the soft hum of the car under his feet as Dean revved the engine.  
“We’re about 20 minutes away, I think,” Sam said, rubbing his eyes and yawning. He flipped closed his laptop and stowed it under his seat. He stretched his arms out in front of him, interlacing his fingers before rotating each arm, hearing a soft pop come from his left elbow.  
“Don’t dislocate anything.” Dean said, sliding a sideways glance a Sam before snapping his eyes back on the road.  
“Yeah…yeah.” Sam replied, smoothing down his suit jacket before tucking his almost shoulder-length brown hair behind his ears. “Local PD is expecting us. They said they’ll have the security cam footage ready for us on a flash drive.”  
“Good. You want me to drop you and find a motel?” Dean asked, slowing down for the first stop light they’ve seen for the last several hours.  
“No, let’s see if this is a monster-monster thing or a human-monster thing, first.” Sam said, opening the glove box and pulling out their FBI badges. He flipped one open to check the picture, then put it in his inside jacket pocket. He passed the other badge to Dean, who also slid it into his jacket pocket.  
Before long, the black Impala was pulling into the Glenpool Police Department’s station. A one-story brown brick building covered in dead vines and moss, it was bigger and nicer looking than either brother expected.  
“Huh, not bad.” Dean said as he slowed down and pulled into an empty spot between two police cars. He moved the gear handle into park and turned off the engine, sliding the keys into the side pocket on his jacket.  
“Dean, we can’t park here.” Sam said, pointing to a sign standing at the front of the parking spot that read “Law Enforcement Only.”  
“Yes we can. We’re the FBI.” Dean said, patting the left side of his jacket where his ID badge was before quickly opening his door and stepping onto the pavement, closing the door behind him.  
Sam sighed and opened his door. He closed it behind him and looked up at Dean, who was already halfway across the parking lot. “Dean!” Sam hissed and quickly did a half jog/half walk across the parking lot to catch up to his brother.  
Once inside, they both stopped to take in their surroundings. To their left was a small reception area with several chairs, magazines, and a TV from late 90’s. A worn out welcome rug with the police department’s logo lead to a solid wood wall stretching to the far right side of the building, with a large sliding window straight in front of them. Sitting behind the window was an elderly woman who glanced up over her large glasses at the boys when they walked in. Sam and Dean stepped forward toward the window as the woman slid the glass to the side.  
“Hi there. Agents Van Zant,” Dean motioned to himself with badge in hand, “and Rossington”, motioning to Sam, who was displaying his badge as well. “We’re here to meet with Lieutenant Murphy.”  
“Is he expecting you?” the woman behind the counter asked, pushing the glasses back up the bridge of her nose after looking at the badges.  
“Yes, we called earlier this morning about the liquor store homicide.” Sam chimed in, putting his badge back into his pocket.  
“Oh, alright. Let me get him. Wait here.” The woman replied sternly, pausing a moment to make sure Sam and Dean did not move. She slid the glass window shut, turned around, and disappeared to the right side of her desk. There was a door a few feet to the right of the window, and several other frosted glass windows that continued past the door spanning the length of the wooden wall. There were bathrooms on the far right wall as well as several more sets of chairs lining each side of the hallway. Dean and Sam both found their eyes resting on the deer head mounted to the wall between the men and women’s restrooms.  
Dean spun around and looked back outside before turning back toward the wooden door. “Rustic and dated. Reminds me of Bobby’s house…” Dean waved his hand around, “…without all the clutter.”  
Sam chuckled and shifted from his left foot to his right. “Yeah, all that’s missing is the smell of whiskey, Old Spice, and some guns mounted to the walls.”  
Before either of them had time to reminisce, the wooden door in front of them swung open. Standing there was chubby man, about five and a half feet tall, with greased back salt and pepper hair. He wiped his right hand on his pant leg and extended it out to Sam. Sam shook his hand, feeling the residual wetness which he hoped was due to the lieutenant just getting done washing his hands. The lieutenant then shook Dean’s hand, passing the same feeling of wetness Sam had just experienced.  
“Follow me, gentlemen.” The lieutenant bellowed as he turned around and walked back through the doorway. Sam and Dean both exchanged disgusted looks with each other as they wiped their right hands on their respective pant legs and followed after the lieutenant.  
The squad room was not as tidy as the waiting area they had just passed through. There was two rows of desks spanning the entire length of the building. Each desk was covered in papers, coffee cups, folders, and other detritus. There was only four officers in the room; two were drinking coffee and speaking softly with each other at the coffee machine on the right side of the room and the other two were sitting at desks on the phone. Busy with their work, none of them seemed to notice the brothers walking through their squad room.  
The lieutenant continued back to a row of offices at the far right side of the building, opening the door of the office furthest to the left in the row. Holding the door open behind him, Sam and Dean quickly duck into the office and take a seat in the two chairs across from the lieutenant’s desk. The lieutenant took a deep breath before slowly lowering himself into his chair. A few moments of silence passed as Dean and Sam were waiting for someone to speak.  
“So Lieutenant Murphy, have you made any progress on the liquor store homicide?” Sam broke the silence as he pulled out a notepad and pen from his jacket pocket.  
“Please, call me Bill. No need for formalities. We’re among colleagues, Agent…?” the lieutenant asked, looking at Sam.  
“Rossington…er….Sam, I guess.” Sam replied.  
“And…?” Bill asked, looking at Dean.  
“Van Zant…or Dean.” Dean replied, nodding at the lieutenant.  
Bill spun his chair around to grab a laptop that was sitting on a pile of papers on the desk behind him.  
“I’m guessing this is what you boys are here to see,” he said as he opened the laptop and clicked a flash drive into the side USB port of the computer.  
“Security footage of the attack?” Sam asked as he leaned forward a bit in his chair.  
Bill nodded and clicked a few times, bringing up the media player on the laptop. He clicked around several more times and then paused the video right before Adrian had entered the store. He spun the laptop around so it was facing Sam and Dean and hovered his finger over the space bar.  
“Prepare yourself. It’s a bloodbath.” He said as he tapped his finger on the space bar which started playing the video.  
Sam and Dean leaned in and watched the scene unfold from the viewpoint of the security camera that was in the left corner of the store near the door, facing the cash register. They watched Adrian collapse, pull out his knife, rock back and forth, and the inevitable attack on the clerk. Shifting in his chair, Dean watched Adrian stand up and turn toward the doorway as the police officers came in. He felt a familiar tingle in his brain as he studied the face of the man on the video who was covered in blood. He turned and looked at Sam who was already looking at him, knowing they were thinking the same thing.  
A shapeshifter case from 3 years ago, outside Fort Collins. Dean and Sam met another hunter who caught wind of the same case. His name was Adrian.


	5. Chapter 5

Looking back at the video in unison, Sam and Dean watched as the police officers fired at Adrian, his lifeless body slumping to the floor, blood pooling under him. Shortly after the police officers kicked the knife away from Adrian, the video ended. Letting out a heavy sigh, Sam raised his eyebrows and leaned back in his chair.  
Dean cleared his throat. “Any sound with the video?” he asked, sitting back in his chair.  
“No, unfortunately.” Bill said, spinning the laptop back around to face him. “Shop owner said he’d rather have a good quality camera rather than a crap camera with sound.” Bill flipped the laptop closed and set it off to the side on his desk.  
“Understandable,” Sam replied with an awkward half smile, not being able to hide his uncomfortableness as well as his brother.  
Bill glanced at Sam with an inquisitive look on his face, studying Sam's facial expressions.  
“You okay, Sam?” Bill asked, sitting up in his chair.  
“Oh, I-yeah.” Sam stammered. “No matter how many times you see something like that, it still is hard to watch, you know?” He said, motioning to the lieutenant’s laptop.  
“I wish stuff like this shocked me anymore.” Bill said with a sigh, shaking his head.  
“I hear that,” Dean said, raising his eyebrows. “You, uh, get an ID on the perp yet?”  
“Yes, we did.” Bill said, shuffling through the folders and papers spread out all over his desk. His desk seemed to have followed the trend of uncleanliness like the desks in the squad room. Bill flipped open several folders before finding the correct one and opening it, having to move the folder closer to him to prevent papers from falling down into his lap.  
“Here we go,” he said, flipping up a page in the folder he was looking at. “Perp’s name is…uhhh…Adrian Booth, lives in Okmulgee…due south from here.” Dean and Sam exchanged defeated looks, it was indeed the hunter they had worked with those three years ago. Bill continued, passing the folder to Dean. “Has a wife, no kids. We were about contact Okmulgee PD to do the notification, wanted to wait for you guys to get here first.”  
Dean flipped through the various pages of the report, nothing catching his eye. He passed the folder to Sam, who started flipping, too.  
“Any link between the store clerk and Booth?” Sam asked, not moving his eyes from the folder in his hands.  
“None we’ve found. We’re thinking he was on his way home from somewhere up north and stopped off the highway for some booze.” Bill said. “We’re hoping the wife can shed some light on that.”  
“You know what Bill,” Dean said, leaning up in his chair. “We want to get to the bottom of this quickly, just like you do. My partner and I will head down and speak with the wife. We’ll check in with the local PD after we do. Don’t want them jumping the gun and getting too many chefs in the kitchen, if you know what I mean.” Dean smiled and nodded at Bill.  
“If you say so, Agent. It’s about a half hour’s drive south on route 75.” Bill said, standing up from his chair.  
“Can I get a copy of this report, Bill?” Sam asked, raising his hand, motioning to the folder in his grasp.  
“Sure thing,” Bill replied, taking the folder from Sam and walking out from behind his desk. He quickly opened the door to his office and walked out.  
Sam and Dean looked directly at each other the second the lieutenant was out of the room.  
“What the hell was that?” Sam said, pulling the flash drive out of the laptop and putting it in his pocket.  
“I don’t know man.” Dean replied, scratching at his newly forming beard. “That was brutal…think he was possessed?”  
“Maybe...but why attack some random person and then get your meat suit killed?” Sam said, shifting toward Dean in his chair. “You think it was a demon he exorcised that made it back topside to get some payback?”  
“No…wait…” Dean said, closing his eyes and remembering the exchange he had with Adrian several years back after they had finished their shapeshifter case. “Didn’t Adrian have an anti-possession tattoo on his arm?”  
Sam tilted his head and looked at Dean. “He was wearing long sleeves in the video, how did you see-“  
“I’m not talking about the video. Remember when we went to that bar after we killed the shifter?” Dean said, cutting off Sam. “He showed us the scar on his arm from when he got bit by that revenant. His tattoo was on that same arm. Remember?”  
Sam squinted trying to recall the exchange before relaxing his face and nodding.  
“You’re right. He did.” Sam said. “That rules out possession…unless he somehow lost the tattoo.”  
Before Dean could reply, Bill returned into the room and handed Sam a disheveled pile of papers tucked inside a folder covered in coffee stains.  
“All I could find,” Bill said, motioning to the folder. “Hope you don’t mind.”  
“Not at all.” Sam said, with a smile. “Thank you for your time, Bill.”  
“Thank you for the help gentlemen. Let me know how it goes with the widow.” Bill reached out his hand to Sam, who started to intentionally fumble around with the folder and papers in his hands. “I...uhh…” Sam said, shrugging, while looking at the papers in his hand and giving Bill an 'I’m sorry' smile.  
Bill nodded, smiled, and turned toward Dean, his arm still extended. Dean stared at the hand in front of him with an uneasy feeling. Standing up, Dean reluctantly shook his hand, trying to hide the grimace and disgust on his face as he was feeling the familiar wetness he had felt before. Sam turned around, facing the door, in order to hide the smile on his face before walking out of Bill’s office. Dean quickly let go of Bill’s hand and took a giant step over to the door to follow behind Sam.  
Dean shuddered and shook his head as he walked next to Sam on their way to the front of the squad room toward the wooden door.  
“Ugh…it’s like shaking hands with a waterfall. The guy sweats more than a hooker in church.” Dean said, rapidly shaking his hand before wiping it on his pantleg.  
Sam, still smiling, held the door open for Dean as they both walked through the wooden door to the waiting area they had seen on their way in.  
"Moist handshakes aside, we need to figure out what the hell is going on and take care of it." Sam said as both brothers exited out the main doors they had entered through and walked down the several sets of stairs to the parking lot.  
"Yeah, let's see what the widow has to say." Dean said as he opened the door to the Impala and slid into the driver's seat.  
"And Sam...?" Dean said as Sam stepped into the car and closed the passenger’s side door.  
"Yeah?" Sam said, raising an eyebrow and tilting his head to the side.  
"Don't use the word 'moist' unless you're describing a cake." Dean said as he put the keys in the ignition and started the engine. He paused a moment to look at Sam, who was still laughing, to give him a hateful stare of disapproval before putting the car into reverse and backing out of the parking spot.  
Waiting at a stop light getting ready to turn onto the highway to Okmulgee, Dean's cell phone began to ring. He dug it out of his jacket pocket and looked at the screen.  
"It's Cas." he said to Sam as he passed the phone over to him. Sam hit the green Answer button.  
"Hey Cas, you're on speaker." Sam said, placing the phone on the dashboard of the Impala. "How's Claire?"  
"Insufferable and ornery." Cas replied, letting out a heavy sigh.  
"Oh come on. I know she's a teenager, but she can't be THAT bad." Dean said.  
"She told me she needed help with a nest of vampires. I showed up and there was a lot of naked people, loud thumping music, flashing lights, and-and someone kissed me and put this pill in my mouth. It made me feel very strange." Cas said.  
Exchanging looks of disbelief, Sam and Dean looked back at the phone on the dashboard.  
"Cl-Claire tricked you...into a rave?" Dean said, trying his hardest to stifle his laughter.  
"Yes." Cas said. "Jody told me what it was after the Sheriff's department came in and started chasing the naked people."  
Dean frantically pointed at the phone, getting Sam's attention. He mouthed "MUTE! MUTE!" as he was trying and failing to suppress his laughter.  
"Are...are you laughing?" Cas said from the other end of the phone.  
Sam picked the phone from the dash and smacked Dean on the shoulder in disapproval.  
"No, Cas. What's up?" Sam said, facing away from Dean to prevent Cas from hearing the laughter.  
"I was calling to ask if either of you remembered the name of the Grigori whose sword Claire has." Cas said.  
Sam paused for a second and remembered back to when he was in the kitchen of the rundown house, tied to a chair, speaking with the Grigori.  
"Uhhh..." Sam muttered as he was remembering the conversation he had back then. "His name was Tamiel."  
"Tamiel. Thank you." Cas replied. "What are you two doing?"  
"Working a case. A hunter me and Dean knew a few years ago went crazy and killed someone." Sam said, looking over his shoulder to see Dean still chuckling to himself.  
"Oh. Need some assistance?" Cas replied, an inflection of hope in his voice.  
"Nah, not yet. We'll let you know if we need some help." Sam replied. "Good luck, Cas. Sounds like you'll need it."  
Cas let out another heavy sigh. "Thanks."  
Sam hit the "End Call" button and handed the phone back to Dean.  
Dean, unable to contain himself anymore, burst out laughing. "A rave, dude! Cas at a rave! Can you imagine that?" Dean said, tears starting to form in his eyes from laughing so hard.  
"Can angels even get high?" Sam said as he shook his head and laughed along with his brother.  
"That's one for the bucket list, Sammy." Dean said as he flicked his blinker, merging onto the exit ramp toward Okmulgee.


	6. Chapter 6

The Impala glided to a stop in front of a somewhat-modern looking one-story home. Dean put the car in park and opened his door, stepping outside into the cold. He shivered a bit, feeling the cold seem to pass right through him, and buttoned his suit jacket. Sam followed shortly after, also shivering slightly when he stepped out onto the sidewalk after he shut his car door.  
Located on a long stretch of road in a residential neighborhood, the house was surrounded on each side with large green pine trees and bushes. The pale brown concrete walkway leading from the sidewalk to the door had several cracks throughout it, leaving large chunks of concrete loose and uneven. The brown-tinged grass appeared to have not been cut, nor the bushes trimmed, in quite some time. The bushes around the house were creeping up and starting to cover the windows on each side of the front door of the home.  
Dean walked around the back of the Impala and met Sam on the sidewalk.  
“Nice neighborhood.” Dean said, looking left and right at the different homes that lined the street.  
“Yeah, but it looks like the local plant life is taking back this one.” Sam said, motioning to the length of the grass and bushes. “I hope someone is home so we can get some answers.”  
Both brothers carefully stepped up the decrepit walkway and up the small set of stairs to the door to the home. Dean raised his arm and knocked three times. After a few moments, there was a soft rustling behind the door.  
“Can I help you?” a female voice said, shaky and muffled.  
Both brothers opened up their badges, showing them to the peep hole in the door.  
“Yes. Agents Van Zant and Rossington” Dean said. “Is this the Booth residence?”  
Dean and Sam waited a few moments before hearing the sound of several locks disengaging the metal scraping sound of a deadbolt being clicked over. The door opened slightly to a slender woman who appeared to be in her mid-forties. Long greasy red hair and freckles, she stood about five feet tall, wearing a stained robe and slippers.  
“What happened?” she said, her voice cracking as she opened the door even more.  
“Are you Mrs. Booth?” Sam said, sliding his badge into his jacket pocket.  
“Yes. Please, call me Marah.” She said, retying the robe tighter around her waist.  
“May we come in, Marah?” Sam asked with a look of curiosity in his eyes.  
“Um, sure, I guess.” Marah said, stepping back from the door and opening it enough to allow Dean and Sam to enter.  
After they both stepped inside, they were greeted with the unfortunately familiar smell of spoiled milk and animal urine. The inside of the home was just as unmanaged, if not more so, than the yard. Dirty dishes, newspapers, garbage bags, and other clutter overwhelmed the entirety of the small amount of the home the brothers had seen so far. There was a plastic covered couch off to their right, covered in both dirty and clean clothing while newspapers stacked waist high covered the coffee table in front of it. Marah closed the door behind Dean and Sam and pointed to the kitchen area toward the back of the house next to the living room.  
“Have a seat, I’m going to put on clothes.” Marah said as she walked through the kitchen and continued on, walking through a door on the opposite side of the wall and disappeared down a set of stairs. Sam and Dean both pulled out the metal chairs at the kitchen table, which was surprisingly clean, and sat down on the plastic floral seat covers. Exchanging a look of surprise, Sam raised his eyebrows and looked around, noticing a red plastic bowl on the floor near the back window with the name “Chester” written on the side.  
“Cat? Dog?” Sam said, pointing to the bowl.  
“Not a cat because I’m not sneezing. But whatever it is, it needs to learn to pee outside.” Dean said, waving his hand in front of his face trying to waft away the pungent smell of the animal urine.  
“Do you remember if Marah knows that Adrian is a hunter?” Sam asked, whispering slightly.  
“I don’t remember.” Dean said, as he looked around the room. “I don’t see any obvious devil’s traps or other warding…so I’m not sure if she knew.”  
“Well, we have to step lightly.” Sam said right as Marah emerged from the doorway.  
“Step lightly about what?” She asked, now wearing a black t-shirt and sweatpants…both covered in tiny holes.  
“Oh…uhh…your walkway.” Sam replied with an awkward smile. “It was a bit unsteady when we were walking on it.”  
“Right.” Marah said, sternly…not buying anything he was saying. “So why are you here?”  
“Adrian Booth is your husband, correct?” Dean said as Marah took a seat across from him.  
“Yes. Has…has something happened?” Marah said, her eyes going wide and rapidly switching back and forth between Dean and Sam.  
“I’m sorry to have to tell you this, Mrs. Booth…” Sam said as he leaned in, resting his elbows on the table. “…but your husband was killed this past Thursday in Okmulgee. I’m so sorry for your loss.”  
Marah looked down at her lap and started to weep silently. Dean tapped on Sam’s shoulder and pointed to a box of tissues sitting on the kitchen counter behind him. Sam rotated in his chair, grabbed the box of tissues, and placed them on the table in front of Marah. Without looking up, she plucked a tissue from the box and pressed it against her face.  
“What…happened?” Marah said between sobs, her chest heaving up and down.  
“Well...he was shot. By police.” Sam said, trying to break the news to her as gentle as possible.  
Marah looked up at him, eyes red and puffy, as tears streamed down her face. “Shot by police? What?”  
“Yes.” Dean chimed in. “Marah, there’s no easy way to put this, so I’m just going to say it. Your husband was shot by police after stabbing a liquor store clerk to death.”  
Sam shot a disapproving look at Dean, and mouthed ‘Really?’ as Marah began to cry even harder into her hands. Dean shrugged and scoffed, mouthing ‘What?’ back at Sam.  
Pulling several more tissues from the box, Marah looked up again. “He killed someone? How? He was a gentle man…could never hurt a fly.” She wiped her eyes and cheeks with the tissues. “I mean…we were going through some problems, but I was getting ready to work things out with him.” Dean and Sam exchanged looks, doubting if Marah knew what her husband really did.  
“We’re trying to figure out what happened, and we were hoping you could help.” Sam said, tucking his hair back behind his left ear.  
Marah nodded and took a deep breath in. “What do you need to know?”  
“What did your husband do for work?” Sam asked, opening his notepad and uncapping his pen.  
“He was a salesman. Traveled a lot.” Marah laughed lightly and wiped the tears from her cheek with the back of her hand. “Which is one of the reasons we were having problems. He would be gone for so much time…and when he’d come back…he would have weird bruises and other injuries. I asked, but he never talked about it. I thought he was cheating on me.”  
Exchanging the same look as earlier, Sam and Dean knew that Marah had no idea that her husband was a hunter, so she might not know what he was doing the night he killed the clerk.  
“Do you know where he would be coming from on Thursday night? He stopped off the highway in Okmulgee, heading south.” Dean asked, happy that she had calmed down.  
“I don’t know, I’m sorry. He hasn’t lived here in over three weeks.” Marah said as she looked down at her lap again. “Like I said, we were having issues. I kicked him out.” She brought her arms up on the table and started picking at the tissue in her hand.  
“Any idea where he was staying?” Sam asked, hoping Adrian didn’t follow suit with other hunters and wasn’t shacking up in an abandoned building.  
Marah nodded and swallowed, feeling the lump in her throat coming back. “Pilot Motel on Deacon Street, about 10 miles from here.” Marah let out a heavy sigh. “At least that’s where he was the last time we spoke…last Monday.” She dropped her head and started to cry again. “This is all my fault. I should have never kicked him out. I called him an asshole. That was the last thing I said to him.” Marah’s chest heaved as she rested her head in her palms again, sobbing.  
“Marah.” Sam said, reaching his hand out across the table toward her. “This isn’t your fault. We’re going to figure out what happened, okay?”  
Marah reached out and tightly gripped Sam’s hand, placing her other hand over her heart and smiled. “Thank you, Agent Rossington.”  
Sam nodded and half smiled back at Marah before standing up from the table, the metal chair letting out a loud scraping noise as it moved backward.  
Dean smiled at Marah and slid sideways out of his chair to avoid making the loud scraping noise.  
“We’ll let you know as soon as we know anything.” Dean said, patting his left hand on the table as Marah stood up from the table to escort them out.  
Marah followed Sam and Dean to the door, watching as they exited and stepped down the steps to the walkway. “Don’t lose your footing, Agent.” Marah said.  
Sam looked back and chuckled. “Thanks.”  
Marah closed the door as Sam and Dean got into the car, hearing the soft hum through the door as the engine turned over.  
“It’s getting late.” Dean said, looking out his window at the various warm pastel colors of the dusk sky. “Let’s pay a visit to this motel and crash there for the night.” Dean said as he put the car into drive. “Give Lieutenant Sweaty a call and let him know what Marah said.”  
Sam nodded and smiled. After a few seconds, he sighed as his smile disappeared. “So, she didn’t know he was a hunter. Couldn’t have been easy for him to keep a secret like that from his wife.” He said, picking at imaginary lint on his pants.  
Dean sighed. “Yeah, well, you don’t ever want to expose the people you love to the crap we deal with, Sam. We’ve all been there.”  
“I guess.” Sam said as she shifted his eyes and stared out of the passenger’s side window, watching the trees pass.  
“This life isn’t for everyone. I don’t blame Adrian for trying to protect his wife.” Dean said, glancing at the map on his phone as he turned left off the street the Booth’s house was on.  
“But look what it did to their relationship. Look what it’s done to our relationship.” Sam said, looking back at Dean.  
“Dude. We’re not married.” Dean said hastily.  
“We kinda are.” Sam said, smiling.  
“Shut up and call Lieutenant Sweaty.” Dean said, rolling his eyes as he turned onto the main road on the way to the motel.


	7. Chapter 7

“Thanks Bill. I’ll let you know what we turn up.” Sam said, holding his cellphone to his ear with his left shoulder while writing in the note pad he had balancing on his knee. He slid the phone down his chest and caught it, hitting the end call button.  
“What did he say?” Dean asked, still looking at the map on his phone to navigate.  
“He said that they caught Adrian’s plate on a traffic cam right outside Tulsa, so that’s probably where he was coming from.” Sam said, capping his pen and flipping his notebook closed.  
“Makes sense, he was heading south toward his motel.” Dean said, as his phone told him he was arriving at his destination.  
Pulling into the parking lot, both brothers looked out their windows to study the motel that Adrian had called home for the past three weeks. The Pilot Motel followed the industry standard design for a usual run-down decrepit motel. There was peeling paint, faded colors, and a few suspicious looking women in short dresses and stilettos sitting on the steps leading to the second floor. Sam and Dean have called so many motel rooms home throughout their entire lives, this was business as usual for them.  
Dean pulled into an empty spot under the rusted metal sign for the motel. The sign, once blue and red in color, had a large picture of an airplane with a man standing on top of it. The sign creaked back and forth with the wind as Dean opened his door and stepped outside, followed shortly after by Sam opening his door and stepping outside, too. Dean walked around to the back of the car and opened the trunk. He grabbed Sam’s bag and tossed it to him before grabbing his own bag and shutting the trunk.  
“Ten bucks says Adrian was taking advantage of the local wildlife,” Dean said, motioning to the two ladies sitting on the steps.  
“I don’t know, man.” Sam said. “It seems like Marah and Adrian really loved each other, despite their problems.”  
“Well, I always say…distance does not make the heart grow fonder. Distance makes the heart want to fondle other people.” Dean said as he opened the door to the office at the motel. Sam slid through the door and into the room before him causing Dean to let out a sigh as his brother cut in front of him.  
Sam reached the counter first, looking around to see if there was someone working the desk. Not seeing anyone, he gently tapped the bell sitting on the side of the counter and waited. After a few seconds, a young man appeared in the doorway behind the counter; covered in piercings and tattoos, he couldn’t have been over twenty years old. He stepped out from the darkness of the doorway and put his hands on the counter.  
“Yeah?” he said, studying Sam and Dean as he scratched at the tangled mess of brown hair on his head.  
“We need a room for the next few nights, possibly longer...” Dean said, reading the name tag on the man’s shirt, “…Eric.” Dean smiled and pushed his credit card across the counter toward Eric.  
“Alright, it’s $65 a night. You guys want the honeymoon room or something?” Eric said as he swiped the card.  
“Uhh…no. No…we’re not…” Sam stammered. “We need a room with two twins.”  
“Whatever. We don’t offer hookers, and I don’t think we have any twins living in the neighborhood.” Eric said, putting Dean’s card back on the counter.  
“Beds. Twin b- never mind.” Sam cut himself off as he shook his head and gave a half smile at Eric.  
Eric raised an eyebrow at Sam before he turned around and grabbed a key off the top row of hooks behind him. “You’re in room four. Enjoy your stay, I guess.”  
“Thanks.” Dean said. “Oh, by the way. A friend of ours was staying here. He’s middle aged, black hair, and probably been here around 3 weeks. Sound like anyone you know?”  
“Sounds like the guy in two. Kinda frumpy looking old dude checked in about a month ago.” Eric said. “Came in and out at all hours. Really shady dude...didn’t want the maid in there. I don’t wanna know the stuff he was getting into.”  
“Thanks, man.” Dean said as he started to turn around. “Also, we don’t want maid service either.” He said with a smile and a wink.  
Eric looked up at Dean with a disgusted look on his face. “Ugh…whatever man.” He said as he turned around and disappeared back into the dark doorway.  
Dean and Sam both exited through the front of the office and started walking toward their room. The doors were bright pink, bleached from red by constant sunlight. The walls were light blue with white cloud designs, broken up sporadically by large chunks of paint that were missing the entire length of the building.  
“So Adrian was in room two.” Sam said as they passed room two on their way to room four. “Settle in and let’s head over there around midnight. Sound like a plan?”  
“You got your pick on you?” Dean asked as he slid the key into the lock on room four and opened the door.  
“Always.” Sam said, patting the right side of his suit jacket.  
Greeted by the familiar smell of cleaning products and stale food, both brothers walked into the motel room and tossed their respective bags on each bed; Dean on the right, closest to the door, Sam on the left, closest to the bathroom. Deep crimson sheets covered in bleach stains under white blankets, each bed looked like it’s seen its fair share of use. The room itself was a tad bigger than either brother had expected; but coming from spacious size of the bunker, it was nice to get some extra room. The usual motel decor cluttered the room…a table with a lamp on it right inside the front door, an old TV on a much older wooden dresser, and a bathroom with tile from the sixties. Sam smiled to himself as he felt the familiar motel comfort he used to know back before they moved into the bunker.  
“This really brings back the memories, doesn’t it?” Sam said, looking around the room at the decor.  
“Oh yeah, hooker sheets and weird stains. How could you not miss this?” Dean said sarcastically.  
“Not that, Dean. I mean you and me, hunting stuff…being on the road all the time…jumping from motel to motel.” Sam replied. “Back in the good old days when we played Motel Roulette.”  
“Yeah, I guess. It does make me a little nostalgic. I think the bunker has ruined our appreciation of motels.” Dean said, smiling.  
Sam sat down at the table in the front of the room and opened his laptop. “I’m going to look over Adrian’s case file again. Do you want to run out for food?”  
Dean, who was already laying down on his bed watching TV, glanced over at Sam. “I thought it was your turn.”  
“No, I have gas this week…you’re on food.” Sam said, typing away on his laptop.  
Dean groaned, rolled on his side, and stood up next to his bed.  
“Whatever. You want your usual salad, brontosaurus?” Dean said, putting his jacket back on.  
“Yeah, thanks.” Sam said, letting out a light chuckle.  
Dean grabbed the room key off the table and quickly exited out the door to the parking lot.  
Sam continued to click around and type on his laptop, deaf to the world around him. He had hacked into the local PD’s database and was cross referencing details about Adrian’s case with other cases for the last year. So far, nothing. Still vigilant as always, he expanded the search to include all nationwide databases for cases that were similar to Adrian’s - a regular person who snapped and killed or seriously injured a stranger. The search was taking longer than expected, so Sam got up and walked over to the bathroom to get a drink of water. As he was filling one of the individually wrapped plastic cups, his laptop emitted three dings.  
“Never get tired of hearing that sound.” Sam said with a smile as he set the cup down on the sink and returned to his spot at the table. He clicked on the box that had appeared on his screen.  
“32 possible matches. This is going to take a while.” He said, running his fingers through his hair and exhaling sharply. Not deterred by the task, Sam dove right in, opening each case file and reviewing the details of each attack. Almost twenty minutes later, Sam was reading a case file from Memphis PD from about three months ago about a woman who had drove up on a sidewalk and hit several pedestrians, killing two. He kept reading the woman’s name over and over again, feeling a familiar tingle in his brain. Ignoring the sensation, he kept reading the file. The woman claimed to have heard her daughter’s voice coming from the stereo in her car, filling her with rage. So much rage that she was compelled to kill as many people around her as possible. The cops that investigated the case thought she was nuts, as they usually do, and locked her in a psych ward. Finding his eyes drifting back onto the woman’s name, Sam started muttering it out loud to himself. “Alicia Branch….Alicia…Branch…” Sam closed his eyes, trying to figure out where he had heard that name before.  
Before Sam had a chance to think any harder, he was startled by Dean slamming the motel room door closed.  
“Jesus, Dean. You scared the crap out of me. I didn’t even hear you open the door.” Sam said, heart still beating rapidly.  
“Why you all jumpy, Sammy? You looking at porn?” Dean said, looking over Sam’s shoulder at his laptop. “Ah, nevermind. Nerd porn. Those case files?” he said as he set a white paper bag on the table next to Sam and started digging through it.  
“Yeah. I did a nationwide search to see if there were any other cases of people going crazy and killing strangers. Found over thirty, been going through them.” Sam said as he reached into the paper bag, pulling out the container with his salad in it.  
Dean nodded and put a french fry in his mouth. “So? Anything interesting yet?” He said as he began to unwrap the aluminum foil surrounding his burger.  
“Maybe.” Sam said, clicking back over to the Alicia Branch case file. “Get this…a woman drove her car up on the sidewalk and ran a bunch of people over…killed two…because she heard her daughter’s voice coming through her stereo. Apparently it made her so angry, she had to kill.”  
“Someone’s been playing too much Grand Theft Auto.” Dean mumbled through his full mouth.  
“That’s not the weird part…do you recognize the name Alicia Branch? She was the driver of the car.” Sam asked as he poured dressing on his salad.  
Dean narrowed his eyes before closing them completely. “Alicia…Branch…yeah. That does sound familiar.” Dean opened his eyes and wiped his hands on his napkin before getting up and walking over to his bag laying on his bed. After digging around for a few moments, Dean pulled out his father’s hunting journal. John Winchester, Sam and Dean’s father, raised them in the hunter lifestyle and kept detailed notes on all monsters and cases he worked, including those cases that involved other hunters. Dean walked back over to the table and sat down. Moving his burger off to the side, he opened up the journal and began flipping the pages. Still flipping, Dean reached over, grabbed a handful of fries, and shoved them into his mouth.  
“Don’t get grease all over dad’s journal, dude.” Sam said, trying to pull the journal away from Dean.  
“Shhh.” Dean said as he swatted Sam’s hand away. He flipped once more and then rested his finger on the page about halfway down. “Jackpot.”  
“Eagle River, Wisconsin. Worked Wendigo case with Alicia Branch. She broke her leg, needed stitches.” Dean read, his finger following each word he was reading off the page.  
“Another hunter?” Sam said in disbelief, putting down his fork and clicking on his laptop again.  
“If it’s the same Alicia Branch, looks like it.” Dean said, sliding the journal off to the side and pulling his burger close to him again before taking a huge bite of it.  
“Two hunters go crazy and kill people within a three month period? I’m not sure that can be a coincidence. I’m gonna keep going through these cases.” Sam said, sliding his salad to the side and pulling his laptop close to him.  
“Don’t forget, we have to sneak over to Adrian’s room after midnight. Might be able to shed some light on what’s going on, too.” Dean said, his mouth full again.  
Sam checked the time on his laptop, 10:42pm. “I’ll keep at this until then. I hope they weren’t hunting something that got them first.”  
“Me, too.” Dean said, taking another bite of his burger, closing his eyes and letting out a soft moan of pleasure while he chewed.  
Sam looked up, noticing a large gob of ketchup on Dean’s chin, mixed in with the beard that was now forming and growing on his face.  
“Dean.” Sam said, motioning to his chin. “You got…uhh…”  
Dean opened his eyes, confused. “Huh?”  
“Wipe your chin.” Sam sighed and handed him a napkin. “And shave it, too! You look ridiculous. Are you going for a record or something?”  
“Maybe...” Dean said as he snatched the napkin and began rubbing his chin. “Get back to work. Faster you get through those, sooner we can go to Adrian’s room.” He said, motioning to Sam’s laptop.  
“It would go faster if you helped me.” Sam said, starting to get annoyed.  
“Nah, you got this. I’m in burger town and not leaving anytime soon.” Dean said as he took a giant bite out of his burger and smiled at Sam.  
Giving Dean a stern look, Sam returned his attention back to his laptop.


	8. Chapter 8

“Almost done?” Dean asked, currently laying on his bed in the motel room with his eyes shut.  
“Yeah, I’m on the last two cases.” Sam said, rapidly blinking to stop the burning sensation in his eyes that has plagued him for the last half an hour.  
“And…?” Dean asked as he sat up in his bed.  
“Only found one more besides Alicia’s that might be a possible match. It’s a stretch, but I’m putting it aside for now. I’ll call the Sidney police department in the morning and ask them more details.” Sam said, his voice trailing off as he was speaking, distracted with the case he was reviewing.  
“Australia?” Dean asked, standing up from his bed and stretching.  
“Nebraska. I think Australia is a bit outside our jurisdiction.” Sam said as he clicked away on his laptop. “Almost done.”  
Dean looked over at the clock on the wall above the TV. “It’s almost one AM, dude. Hurry up. I’m bored.”  
Ignoring Dean’s protesting, Sam hit the arrow key on his laptop a few more times before sitting back in his chair and letting out a heavy sigh. “Alright. I found three total, two confirmed as related to Adrian’s. One I’m not sure.”  
“Cool. Tell me later. Let’s go.” Dean said, his hand already on the door to their motel room, ready to leave.  
“You’re going to break into his room in your Fed suit?” Sam said with raised eyebrows, staring at Dean.  
Rolling his eyes and sighing, Dean turned around, walked over to his bed, ruffled through his bag, pulled out a pair of jeans and a flannel shirt, and shuffled into the bathroom.  
“And you say I’m the bossy one.” Dean said before he slammed the bathroom door.  
Sam smiled and shut his laptop before standing up. He reached up and stretched his arms above his head, pressing his palms flat against the ceiling. He started undoing the buttons on his dress shirt while he kicked his shoes off. Walking over to the bag sitting on his bed, Sam pulled his own flannel shirt and jeans out and set them on the right side of the bag. After completely unbuttoning his shirt, he slid it off and laid it gently on the bed on left side of his bag before unrolling the flannel shirt and putting it on. Rolling clothes tight enough so they don’t wrinkle while on the road is an art form that both Sam and Dean were proud to have mastered. He pulled on the white shirt he was wearing under his dress shirt to untuck it from his pants before he started undoing his belt and button on his pants. Pulling his belt off and setting it on the bed, he undid his zipper, dropped his pants and, in one swift motion, kicked his leg up that he still had in his pant leg and caught his pants in mid-air. Mentally high-fiving himself, he set his pants on top of his dress shirt on his bed and unrolled his jeans before putting them on. Right as he finished zipping and buttoning his zipper and started to put his belt on, Dean emerged from the bathroom. Sam turned around and looked at Dean. They were both wearing the same pattern and color flannel shirt.  
“Twinsies?” Sam said, smiling as he finished buckling his belt.  
“I didn’t know they made this shirt in ‘freakishly large’ size.” Dean said as he threw his heap of clothes on his bed.  
“I didn’t know you still don’t realize you’re not funny.” Sam said smiling while slipping his normal suede shoes on.  
Dean mockingly mumbled back at him as he walked over to the door. “Come on. We’re losing daylight…er….night…light…I guess.” He said as he opened the door to their motel room.  
Still buttoning his flannel shirt, Sam stood up and followed Dean as he walked through the door out to the walkway of the motel room, stopping momentarily to grab his lock pick set from the pocket of his suit jacket.  
The temperature had dropped considerably since earlier in the evening, and the strong wind was not helping, either. Dean looked around for people or cars in the area while Sam sprinted over to the office and peered through the window. Seeing nobody in the office and seeing nobody around outside, Sam and Dean rendezvoused at the door to room two. Dean looked around and kept watch as Sam slid his lock pick into the lock and started to move the tumblers around. After about fifteen seconds, the lock clicked and turned, opening the door. Sam pulled his pick out of the lock and slipped inside the room, Dean following closely behind him before shutting the door once they were both inside.  
Adrian’s room looked exactly like the one Dean and Sam had, save for empty liquor bottles, dirty clothes, and empty take-out containers scattered all over the room. Dean walked over to the bed and grabbed the remote. Clicking the power button, he sat down on the edge of the king bed, having to steady himself as he sank down and backwards. Dean looked back up at the TV and smiled when he saw the opening credits of Casa Erotica 11 playing on the screen.  
“Hey Sam, check it out.” Dean said, pointing at the TV, still smiling. “It’s not 14, but still a good one.”  
Sam sighed. “Dude. Shut it off. We’re not here to watch porn.”  
“But Adrian was, apparently.” Dean said, clicking the TV off and throwing the remote on the bed behind him.  
Over the next hour, Dean and Sam searched every inch of Adrian’s room. Wading through the garbage and dirty clothes, they found no signs that Adrian was on a hunt. No newspaper clippings, police reports, nor weapons of any kind. Sam sat down at the table in Adrian’s room and let out a heavy sigh. Dean came over and sat across from him, also letting out a heavy sigh.  
“So, he wasn’t on a hunt?” Sam said with a raised eyebrow.  
“I guess not.” Dean said, scratching at his beard. He looked around Adrian’s room again once more before his eyes froze on a small flat white object that was under the TV. “What’s that?” He said as he got up and walked over to the dresser the TV was sitting on.  
“What’s what?” Sam said, watching Dean grab the TV and begin to pick it up.  
Lifting the TV and moving it a few feet to the right, Dean picked up the small piece of paper that was under it and read.  
“It’s a business card. Dr. Ellen Barnes in Tulsa, Oklahoma.” Dean said, reading off the card. “Specializes in psychiatry and counseling, according to this.”  
“Well, Adrian was coming from Tulsa. You think he was seeing the psychiatrist?” Sam said as he stood up. “I mean, it could just be a coincidence. Who knows how long that card has been under the TV? Doesn’t really strike me as the type of motel that thoroughly cleans each room between guests.”  
Dean shrugged his shoulders and nodded in agreement with Sam as he flipped the business card over. He raised his eyebrows and looked up at Sam. “Oh, I think he definitely was seeing this doc.”  
Sam looked back with a confused look on his face. “How do you know for sure?”  
Dean held up the business card to Sam before turning it over to show him the reverse. The back of the business card had a standard pentagram devil’s trap on it, printed in red ink.  
“Oh…yeah. I think that might be something worth looking into.” Sam said, taking the business card from Dean so he could study it himself. Running his finger along the design Sam let out an inquisitive noise and looked up.  
“You have your flashlight on you?” He asked as he tilted the card back and forth in his hands.  
Dean reached into his jacket pocket, pulled out his small flashlight, and handed it to Sam, who immediately clicked it on.  
“Check this out.” Sam said, holding the flashlight sideways along the business card. As Sam passed the flashlight over the edge of the card, dozens of small flecks of a metallic material reflected light and sparkled.  
“Is that…” Dean began to ask.  
“Silver. Yeah.” Sam said as he clicked the flashlight off. “I think so.”  
“Who the hell is this doctor?” Dean said as he took the business card back from Sam and scratched at the silver flecks.  
“No idea, but we’re going to find out tomorrow.” Sam said before he began to move toward the door.  
Slowly opening the door, he peeked his head out to make sure there was still nobody in the area. Seeing nobody around like earlier, he opened the door and walked out, motioning for Dean to follow him. Taking a moment to make sure the door didn’t slam, Dean followed after Sam back down the walkway to their motel room. Once both brothers were back inside their motel room, Sam immediately sat down at the table and flipped open his laptop.  
“I’m going to Google her real quick, see if there’s any more info we can find.” He said as his laptop whirred to life. “She has a devils trap on the back of her business card and flecks of silver in the card stock. She has to be a hunter.”  
Sam typed her name into Google and pulled up several articles about Ellen’s husband’s murder in addition to a few articles about awards and achievements she had received during her time in private practice.  
“Well, she lost her husband in a home invasion years back.” Sam read off his screen. “Looks like she was in a nice private practice and vanished after his death. She popped up about a year later in her own office, but I can’t find any information about where it’s located on any of these articles.” Sam said as he sat back in his chair. “We’ll have to call the number on the card tomorrow for directions.” He paused a moment. “Dean?”  
Sam looked to his right to see why Dean wasn’t participating in the conversation. Dean was already face down on his bed, still clothed, fast asleep. Sam smiled and shook his head before raising his arms up and stretching as he got up. He could feel his eyes watering as he yawned before he started moving toward his bed. Pushing his bag off the bed, he followed Dean’s move and also flopped down face first, burying his face in the pillow. He let out a heavy sigh before shifting slightly and reaching into his pocket to remove his phone. He turned to his left to look at the phone before tapping the screen a few times, making sure his alarm was set for 6:45am. He slid the phone onto the nightstand between the two beds and locked the screen; pausing momentarily to check the time - 2:32am. Sam buried his face back into his pillow and drifted to sleep, his mind still pondering the mysteries surrounding Dr. Ellen Barnes.


	9. Chapter 9

After being startled awake by the loud ringing and vibration of his alarm, Sam groaned and wiped the dried saliva from his left cheek. Lifting his head, he sluggishly flailed his arm and slapped the screen of his phone to silence the alarm.   
“Dean…wake up.” Sam mumbled with a gravelly voice as he lifted his head up to look over toward Dean. Noticing he was gone, Sam propped himself up and swung his feet around off the edge of his bed to face Dean's bed, placing his feet flat on the surprisingly cold floor.   
"Dean?" Sam asked as he rubbed his eyes and ran his fingers through his hair, unsuccessfully trying to smooth down the cowlick he had developed overnight. As he leaned to his left to get a better view into the bathroom, the motel room door opened behind him. Spinning around quickly, he was momentarily blinded by the bright reflection of the sun off the table next to the window in the room. Sam squinted and blinked, finally able to make out the shape of Dean as he threw the motel room key on the table and walked in, stopping next to the end of Sam's bed.  
"Morning, Scary Spice. Nice hair.” Dean said, smiling.   
“Shut up.” Sam said, shaking his head. “How long have you been up?”  
“About an hour. Ran to get some breakfast.” Dean said, shaking a white paper bag he was holding in his left hand. “I got you an egg white omelette with some green crap on it.” He said, dropping the bag onto the end of Sam’s bed.   
“Th-Thank…you?” Sam said, suspicious of Dean’s attitude.   
“Don’t mention it. Get dressed, eat, and let’s get on the road.” Dean said, wiggling his thumb toward the Impala sitting outside the motel room.  
“Okay…who are you and what have you done with my brother?” Sam said, turning his body toward Dean. “The peppy attitude…getting me breakfast,” he said as he picked up the paper bag. “Not to mention the beard. You feeling okay?” Sam asked as he reached into the paper bag to remove the Styrofoam container.  
"I feel fine, Sammy." Dean said as he walked over and sat on his bed. "Just excited to be working a case again, you know? I enjoyed the brief pantless staycation we had, but hunting is who we are...and I want to stop whatever is killing these other hunters."  
Sam shrugged and got up from his bed. "Whatever you say." He set his food down and walked over to the bathroom and flipped on the light. "Still doesn't explain the beard, though."  
"I'll shave it if you cut your hair." Dean said as he ran his fingers up and down the side of his face and chin and chuckled quietly.  
Sam leaned back and stuck his head out the doorway to the bathroom, a toothbrush in his mouth. "Really, dude? You're not shaving to protest my hair length? What are you, eleven?" Sam rolled his eyes and leaned forward back into the bathroom, brushing his teeth.  
"Growing old is mandatory. Growing up is optional." Dean said as he laid back on his bed.   
Sam swished water around in his mouth and spit as he ran some water over his toothbrush. Wiping his mouth with one of the towels, Sam emerged from the bathroom. "Yeah, still not gonna happen." He said as he turned and threw the towel into the bathroom sink.  
Dean sat up and slapped his thighs with his hands. "Well, judging on how fast this beard is growing, you're going to have to call me Agent Gibbons from now on." Dean smiled and began to play air guitar.  
"You are eleven." Sam said as he grabbed his food container and walked over to the table, placing it down and turning, walking back toward his bed. "I'll eat on the way. Get your fed suit on."  
"Dude, we're pretty sure this shrink deals with hunters. The fed suits and badges aren't going to fool her." Dean said as he got up from his bed.  
"Right." Sam said, as he stopped riffling through his bag. "Call the office and get their address while I change my shirt. The card is on the table." Sam pulled a new t-shirt and flannel out of his bag and started unbuttoning his shirt. Dean sighed and snatched the card off the table while he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and began dialing.   
"Put it on speaker." Sam said as he slipped his undershirt over his head and threw it on the bed.  
"Yeah, yeah." Dean said as he finished dialing and hit the speaker button. Right as the line started to ring, Dean slid his phone onto the table in front of him.  
"Dr. Barnes' office, this is Natalie. How can I help you?" a female voice answered.  
"Hi, my name is Dean Winchester. My brother and I were looking to come in and speak to Dr. Barnes and we just need your address." Dean said, leaning up in his chair.  
"Who was your reference?" Natalie asked.  
"Uhhh...reference?" Dean answered, looking up at Sam with a confused look.  
"What is the name of the individual who told you about Dr. Barnes?" Natalie replied with a heavy sigh.  
"Oh...uh...Adrian Booth." Dean said, shrugging and raising his eyebrows at Sam, who shrugged back at Dean.  
"One moment." She replied before the line went quiet. About thirty seconds later, Natalie came back on the line. "Referral verified. I do need to ask two questions before providing you the address of the office."  
"Alright. Go for it." Dean said as Sam slid into the chair opposite him and finished buttoning the top few buttons of his shirt.  
"What two materials can cause a ghost to temporarily disappear?" Natalie asked.  
"Easy." Dean said with a smile. "Iron and salt."  
"Thank you. Next question: What creature has a reflective lens flare appear in their eyes when they are shown on camera?"  
Dean scoffed. "Easy again. That would be a shapeshifter." he replied, giving thumbs up at Sam. Sam smiled and mouthed "Mandroids" at Dean before laughing lightly, remembering the time years ago when they were stuck in a bank with a shapeshifter and a mentally unstable ex-security guard.  
"Alright, thank you. Are you ready for the address?" Natalie asked.  
"Hang on one second." Dean said as he wiggled his wrist at Sam, requesting something to write with. Sam took his notepad and pen out of the pocket of his jacket that was hanging on the back of his chair and slid it over to Dean. Dean flipped it open and uncapped the pen. "Okay, ready."  
"842 Southside Ave, Suite Three in Tulsa, Oklahoma. If you're using GPS, you have to drive past the office and take the side street behind the building. The office entrance doors are there and so is our parking lot. You got that?" Natalie asked.  
"I...believe so..." Dean said as he finished writing on the note pad. "842 Southside Ave, Tulsa. Take the side street to get to the office. Got it. Thanks."   
"If you're not setting up an appointment, there might be a wait when you get here." Natalie said haltingly.  
"We'll be there today, and that's fine." Dean said, capping the pen and setting it down before picking up his phone. "Thank you." He clicked the End Call button before Natalie had a chance to answer. Dean was already on the map app on his phone typing in the address as Sam got up to put on his jacket.   
"Shouldn't be too long of a drive." Sam said as he grabbed his now-cold omelette from the table and opened the door to the motel.   
"Nope...but let's hope this doc isn't making people go guano on purpose." Dean said as he grabbed the motel room key off the table and followed Sam out into the parking lot.  
Dean opened the driver's side door to the Impala and paused for a moment before leaning down and looking at Sam, who was already in the passenger's seat.   
"Hey...last night, didn't you say there was one more case you wanted to check into that was a possible match to the other two we've confirmed were hunters?" He said as he side stepped and slid into the driver's seat before shutting his door.  
"Yeah, I have to call the Sidney police department to get more info on the case. I'll do that on the way to the doctor's office." Sam said as he pulled his phone out of his pocket and Googled their phone number. It was seven-thirty in the morning, but Sam hoped they were open already so he could cross reference a complete list of names of the victims with Dr. Barnes' patient list when they got to her office. After a few minutes of searching, he located the PD number on their website and dialed it. After a few moments of ringing, a deep grumbly voice answered.   
"Sidney Police Department, Officer Clarke speaking. May I help you?" the voice said.  
"Hi, this is Detective Steve Elliot, badge number 25157, out of Madison, Wisconsin. I'm calling about the two homicides you guys had about a month ago...the two homeless people with multiple stab wounds that had their throats slit?" Sam said, reading the name and badge number off a small piece of paper that he keeps inside the front part of his notepad.  
"Oh...uhh. Yeah. Hang on, let me get you over to Eric, he's lead on that one." Officer Clarke replied before he put the call on hold. A few seconds later the phone rang again and a man answered. "Officer Eric Manns speaking. This is detective Elliot, right?" His tone had a lot more pep in it than the previous officer.  
"Yes. Please call me Steve. You're the lead on the two homeless person homicides?" Sam asked, flipping his notepad open to an empty page and uncapping his pen with his mouth.  
"Yeah, that's me. What do you need to know?" Officer Manns said.  
"You catch the person that did it or have any leads? We have a similar case up here and wanted to compare notes." Sam said, moving his phone from his left ear to his right, holding it in place with his shoulder.  
"We got him, already. Local kid named Paul Groban." Sam heard Officer Manns rustling some papers in the background. "He was apparently trying to join a gang and he had to kill a few homeless people to get in."  
Sam raised his eyebrow, grabbed his phone with his left hand, and pressed it to his left ear before looking over at Dean. "A...gang? In Sidney, Nebraska?" Sam said in disbelief.  
Dean shot a puzzled look back at Sam, trying not to take his attention off the road for too long.  
"Kids get bored. Play too many video games. Worship Satan. Kill the neighbor's cat. I stopped asking why a long time ago." Officer Manns said with zero inflection in his voice, followed by a heavy sigh.  
"How sure are you that he did it?" Sam asked sheepishly, still puzzled by the Officer's statement.  
"He had the bloody knife wrapped in the same hoodie a witness saw him wearing that night. We found it shoved under his bed in his room." Officer Manns said.  
"His room?" Sam asked. "How old is this kid?"  
"Just turned fourteen on October nineteenth." Officer Manns said, his voice sounded more defeated than earlier.  
"Oh, wow." Sam cleared his throat, trying to cover how shocked he was. "I'm guessing we're not after the same guy then."  
"Ha. Don't think so, Steve. Unless my guy flew up to Wisconsin and went on a crime spree before returning here to kill two people." Officer Manns said.  
Sam laughed lightly, reciprocating the officer’s initial laughter. "I guess not. Thank you for your time, though, Officer Manns. Have a good one."  
“Likewise, buddy. Good luck on your case.” Officer Manns said.  
“Thank you.” Sam replied before hitting the End Call button on his phone and placing it on the dashboard. "Unless a fourteen year old gang member hopeful is somehow seeing a hunter shrink, I don't think that one is one of ours."  
"Did I hear him say something about killing the neighbor's cat?" Dean asked as he checked the map on his phone and changed lanes. They were already on the highway and well on their way to Tulsa.  
"Yeah." Sam chuckled. "And Satan worshipers. If he only knew we've both personally met Lucifer. Hell, I was _possessed_ by him."  
Dean scoffed and revved the engine. He took in a deep breath and gripped the steering wheel tighter than usual. "You know...I kinda get it."  
Sam raised an eyebrow and looked at Dean. "Get what?"  
"You know...the therapy crap." Dean waved his right hand around. "I mean, I don't believe in it....but I guess it works for some people. And if this doc is helping hunters work through all the dark and depressing stuff we see, then I guess that's cool. I mean, sometimes I wonder how different you and I would have turned out if we got therapy when we were kid-" Dean stopped and looked over at Sam, who was currently staring at him with a confused and inquisitive look on his face.  
"I think that beard is doing something to you, Dean." Sam said, pursing his lips together to stop himself from smiling.  
"What?" Dean said.  
"I mean, I can dig into the lore...maybe there's some type of haunted beard." Sam replied.  
"Okay, stop." Dean said, waving his hand.  
"Maybe Bobby is back. Do you have the sudden urge to watch Tori Spelling?" Sam said as he started to laugh.  
"Eat me, Sam." Dean said, turning his attention back to the road.  
"I think that beard is eating you enough." Sam said, still snickering and laughing as they continued down the highway toward Tulsa.


	10. Chapter 10

Right as the second chorus began in Led Zeppelin’s "Ramble On", Dean turned right onto the side street behind Dr. Barnes' office building. Finding an empty parking spot right across from the entrance to the office, Dean pulled in. He switched the gear shifter up to park and clicked the keys back, shutting off the engine but leaving the radio on. Sam sat back in his seat and smiled, looking over at Dean who had his eyes closed and was tapping his left foot and nodding to the beat. "Ramble On" is one of Dean's favorite songs of all time, he wouldn't dare interrupt it by leaving the car.  
A few minutes later, the song ended and Dean opened his eyes. He looked over at Sam. "You ready?"  
"Yeah, let's see what this is all about." Sam said as he opened the passenger's side door and stepped out. He tucked his hair behind his ears before shoving his hands into the front pockets of his jacket. It wasn't as cold as it was yesterday but the wind had picked up, causing the fallen leaves scattered all over the parking lot to whip around.  
Sam waited at the back of the Impala for Dean, who met him a few seconds later, also with his hands shoved into the front pockets of his jacket.  
"Just for once, I want to investigate a case in Miami." Dean said hastily. "A sand monster that eats bikinis. A haunted beach. Something!"  
Sam laughed and started walking across the parking lot toward the frosted double doors of Dr. Barnes' office.  
"Nothing's stopped you from driving to a beach, Dean." Sam said, looking back at Dean. "You ever think it's because you don't know how to relax without working? The entire time we were waiting for a case over the last few weeks, you cleaned every gun we own, rearranged the library, and cleaned the kitchen. Twice." Sam raised his arms and shrugged before gesturing toward the door to Dr. Barnes' office. "Maybe you should talk to Dr. Barnes...she might be able to help you work through that maze of a brain you have."  
"I'm fine, Sam. Nothing wrong with liking to work." Dean said, narrowing his eyes.  
"Alright, I was only making an observation." Sam said, innocently, raising his palms toward Dean. He turned around and walked up to the double doors to the office and opened the left side door. Holding the door open for Dean, Sam stepped inside and took several steps toward the reception desk. Dean closed the door behind him and looked around. The waiting room had two people in it, one woman and one man. The woman was in a sweater and jeans, and looked to be in her mid-thirties. The man, sitting a few seats to her left, was several decades older with gray hair. Wearing a worn out flannel shirt and faded jeans, he looked up toward Sam and Dean and nodded at them as they came in.  
Sam stepped toward the counter and looked down at Natalie behind the desk.  
Smiling, Sam waited for Natalie to look up at him. "Hi. I'm Sam Winchester. My brother, Dean, called earlier to set up a meet-"  
"Sit. She'll call you when she's ready." Natalie said sternly, cutting Sam off.  
"I...okay." Sam stammered, as the smile faded from his face. "Thanks."  
Sam turned around, raised his eyebrows at Dean, and exhaled rapidly.  
"Friendly staff," he whispered as he moved toward an empty chair to the left of the doors they just walked through. Sam sat down and looked around, shifting in his chair slightly as Dean sat down in the chair next to him. Sam looked at the metallic trim around the various pieces of furniture and nudged Dean with his right elbow.  
"Check it out." Sam whispered as he nodded his head toward the row of chairs across the room from them. "Silver trim on the chairs and on the counter of the reception desk. She's thorough, I'll give her that."  
"Hey, better have more protection than not enough." Dean said as he picked up a magazine from the table in front of him and flipped it open.  
"But there's a fine line between prepared and paranoid." Sam said as he turned around and noticed the salt line running along the length of the windowsill behind him.  
The older man in the waiting room looked over at Sam and Dean before sliding a few chairs closer to the brothers and leaning in.  
"Did you say you were Sam and Dean Winchester?" He whispered as he slid into the chair one away from Dean on his right.  
Dean shifted in his seat to his left toward Sam and looked at the man next to him.  
"Yeah, I'm Dean. That's Sam." Dean said, pointing at himself, then to his brother.  
"Oh…wow. It's an honor to meet you both. I'm Mike Capers. Hunter out of Ohio." Mike said as he extended his hand to Dean, who shook it, and then to Sam, who did the same. "You guys are kind of famous in the lifestyle. It's like meeting a celebrity."  
Sam chuckled nervously. "We're just regular hunters, nothing special."  
"Yep. We see it, we kill it, we save the princess. The hunter life." Dean added, smiling.  
Mike sighed and shrugged. "Yeah, I guess so. Until you can't save the princess and are forced to watch her get torn apart by three vamps."  
Dean and Sam exchanged wide-eyed looks of shock and awkwardness.  
"Oh, wow. Sorry, Mike. That must have been awful. Is that why you're here?" Sam asked with a soft tone and sympathetic voice.  
"Yeah. I'm glad I found the doc. I was in a really bad place. Drinking myself across the Midwest, starting fights...it was just a horrible period in my life. I got in a fist fight with another hunter over a case and he gave me Dr. Barnes' card, told me to get some help." Mike sighed and sat back in his chair. "Took me a few weeks but I finally bit the bullet and came by. I'm glad I did." Mike slapped his thighs with his hands and sat up. "I'm happier now and I've even gotten back to hunting.”  
"That's great to hear that you're doing better." Sam said, smiling at Mike. Sam turned his head toward Dean and whispered. "Drinking and starting fights...hmm...sound like anyone you know?"  
Dean leaned to the left and quickly elbowed Sam in his right side, just below his rib cage.  
"Stop it, Sam." Dean hissed through a clenched jaw.  
Sam exhaled sharply and smiled, laughing softly.  
“So why are you two here?” Mike asked.  
“Sam here is having lady troubles. I’m here for moral support.” Dean smiled, nodded and sat back in his chair. “Right, Sam?”  
“Yeah…no.” Sam said. “We just want to see what the buzz is all about.” Dean and Sam exchanged looks. Neither one wanted to tell another hunter they were working a case involving something that was targeting hunters. Too many people getting involved in a case is always a bad thing; doesn’t matter if it’s cops or hunters.  
"Fair enough. You won't regret it, boys." Mike said, right as the door to Dr. Barnes' office swung open. A tall woman with very short blonde hair emerged, followed by Dr. Barnes. The blonde woman turned around and hugged Dr. Barnes before walking to the front of the office and removing her coat from a hanger before putting it on. Dr. Barnes looked around the waiting room and rested her gaze for a few moments on Sam and Dean. She tilted her head to the side before looking at Mike.  
"Hey, Mike. You mind if I take Brothers Grimm over here first?" Dr. Barnes said, motioning to Sam and Dean.  
Mike looked up and shook his head. "Not at all, doc."  
"Come on, boys." Dr. Barnes motioned for Dean and Sam to follow her as she walked back into her office. The brothers stood up and made their way across the waiting room, walking through the doorway into Dr. Barnes' office.  
"Have a seat." Dr. Barnes motioned at the two leather seats across from her chair and closed the door. She walked over and sat in her chair as Sam and Dean sat down in unison.  
After studying the brothers for a few moments, Dr. Barnes smiled. "Sam and Dean Winchester. I knew it was only a matter of time before I would be seeing you two."  
"What’s that supposed to mean?" Dean asked.  
Dr. Barnes laughed slightly and grabbed her notebook from the table on her right. "I've been doing this for several years now. Your names have come up quite a few times from all sorts of people. I guess it's nice to finally meet the men behind the legend."  
“Sorry…legend?” Sam asked, leaning up in his chair.  
“Well, I use the word ‘legend’ loosely. I’ve heard good and bad things, but most hunters I help do view you two as royalty. The others…well…I’m sure you’ve had your share of conflicts with other hunters.” Dr. Barnes said, flipping open her notebook.  
“We’ve even been killed by other hunters before.” Dean said, smiling, remembering back to when they were ambushed and killed by Roy and Walt.  
Dr. Barnes looked up. “Sorry? Killed?”  
“Oh yeah. Me and Sam have died and come back more times than we can count. Or even remember.” Dean said, flashing his famous ear-to-ear smile.  
"Right." Dr. Barnes said with a puzzled look. "Anyways, what brings you boys in? Your dangerous co-dependency? Love life issues? Brotherly relationship problems?"  
"Oh, no. No...Not...uhh..." Dean stammered and cleared his throat. "Nothing like that. We're working a case, and it lead us to you."  
"Oh. A case involving me?" Dr. Barnes said as she flipped her notebook closed and set it back on her side table.  
"Do you have a patient named Adrian Booth?" Sam asked.  
Dr. Barnes sighed. "I do, but as I’m sure you gentlemen know, I can't discuss his sessions with you. I still am a licensed psychiatrist and bound by doctor/patient confid-"  
"He's dead, Dr. Barnes." Sam said, interrupting her train of thought.  
“He’s…what?” Dr. Barnes said, the color draining from her face.  
“He attacked and killed someone before being gunned down himself by police.” Sam replied hesitantly in a soft tone.  
“Oh, Adrian. Poor man. He was just starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.” Dr. Barnes shook her head.  
"I'm sorry, Dr. Barnes, but what about an Alicia Branch? Was she a patient, too?" Sam asked.  
Dr. Barnes looked up at Sam, tears beginning to well in her eyes. "Alicia, too?! Is she...?"  
"No. She's not dead, but she also had a violent outburst that caused a few people to lose their lives. She's in jail right now as far as we know." Sam said, plucking a tissue from the box on the table in front of him and passing it to her.  
Accepting the tissue, Dr. Barnes blotted her eyes and let out a heavy sigh, her breath shaky as she exhaled. "So, two of my patients had violent outbursts and killed people?"  
"That we know of. We wanted to get some information from you about what they were working on in the last few months, what issues and what cases." Dean said, shifting in his chair.  
"Adrian and Alicia didn't know each other. Alicia had been seeing me for about four months, Adrian only about one month." Dr. Barnes got up from her chair and walked to a metal filing cabinet next to her desk. She opened the second drawer and browsed for a moment, running her fingers across the tabs of several folders before closing the drawer. "That's odd." Sam and Dean perked up in their seats as Dr. Barnes opened up two more drawers and browsed through them.  
"What's wrong?" Sam asked.  
Dr. Barnes walked over to her desk and moved some papers around before spinning around and facing Sam and Dean. "Alicia and Adrian...their files are missing.”


	11. Chapter 11

"Missing?" Sam said, scooting up in his chair.  
"Yes, I can't find them. I always keep my patient files in here." Dr. Barnes said, as she placed her hand on the metal filing cabinet and tapped it. "Well, ones that I'm not doing case notes on or being scanned for insurance or billing."  
"What about your receptionist? Could she have them?” Dean asked.  
"I don't think so...but let me ask." Dr. Barnes said as she walked over to her desk and pressed a red button on an old-style black office phone. The line beeped, and Natalie answered a few seconds later.  
"Yes, Dr. Barnes?" She answered.  
"Can you come in here for a moment, please?" Dr. Barnes asked as she rested her palms on her desk.  
"Sure thing." Natalie answered before disconnecting the line. About twenty seconds later, the door to Dr. Barnes' office opened and Natalie walked in, shutting the door behind her.  
"Natalie," Dr. Barnes said as she spun around and leaned back against her desk. "Do you remember seeing patient files for Adrian Booth or Alicia Branch in the last week or so? Were you doing any billing or scanning with them?"  
"Not that I remember, Dr. Barnes. I know Adrian didn't have insurance and Alicia paid in cash, so I wouldn't have needed to scan anything for billing or insurance records." Natalie answered, crossing her arms across her chest.   
"Are you absolutely sure?" Sam asked as both brothers stood up from their respective chairs.  
Natalie took a step back away from Sam and looked him up and down. "Yeah. I'm sure, surfboard." She said, sarcastically.  
Dean looked down and smiled, laughing lightly. Dr. Barnes smiled as well before standing up straight again and smoothing down her skirt with her hands.  
"Thank you, Natalie. Keep an eye out and let me know if you come across them, OK?" Dr. Barnes said.  
"You got it." Natalie moved toward the door, extending her left arm to open the door. Sam glanced over at her as she was leaving and noticed a small scar on the inside of her wrist. Something looked familiar about the scar, like he had seen it before or recognized what caused it. Squinting and tilting his head to the side, Sam tried to study the shape and details of the scar before Natalie exited the door. After she left, Sam glanced at Dean before turning toward Dr. Barnes and motioning to his wrist. "What happened to Natalie's wrist?"  
Dr. Barnes let out a heavy sigh. "Her parents used her as an ashtray since she was barely out of diapers. She ran away, but not after years and years of abuse took its toll. I volunteered at a women's shelter a while ago while I was still in my private practice. Natalie was a resident there, that's how we met. I helped her work through the psychological damage her parents did. After my husband died and I got my revenge on the werewolf that killed him," Dr. Barnes looked down momentarily and continued. "Natalie found me. She was doing so much better and was so thankful...I offered to have her be my receptionist. I told her everything I knew, everything that I had learned from the hunters I had met. It was a rough couple months before we opened the office, but we helped each other through the new experience...and here we are now." Dr. Barnes said, opening her arms and looking around, smiling.  
Sam nodded and smiled, still thinking about the scar but putting it in the back of his mind. "You're doing great things here, Dr. Barnes." He said. “When we were researching you after we found your card in Adrian’s motel room, I found news stories about your husband. I’m sorry to hear what happened.”  
Seeing the large green eyes of the werewolf who killed her husband creeping up in her mind, Dr. Barnes closed her eyes and gently shook her head. “It’s in the past. I don’t dwell on things I can’t change. It’s not like I can go back in time and change what happened.”  
“Actually, we-“ Dean began to say, thinking about the several times both he and Sam have gone back in time.  
“WE…are very sorry for your loss, regardless, Dr. Barnes.” Sam interrupted and cut Dean off before glaring at him.   
“Thank you.” Dr. Barnes replied, trying and failing to muster a smile. “But, that’s enough about me and where I come from…what about you two?”  
“What about us?” Dean asked.  
“I mean, I’ve heard bits and pieces about where you came from. An obsessed and broken father raising two kids in the hunter lifestyle after his wife died. Dean sacrificing himself for Sam and going to hell, Dean being rescued by an angel, Sam drinking demon blood and setting Lucifer free before being possessed by him and ‘jumping into the pit’ himself, as I’ve heard it said by other hunters.” Dr. Barnes said as she moved toward her chair and sat down. “And of course, I did manage to find those.” Dr. Barnes motioned to the second to last shelf on a bookshelf behind Sam and Dean. Both brothers turned around in their chairs to see the entire series of Supernatural books that were written by Carver Edlund, in chronological order on the shelf. “The hunter that was with me when I found the werewolf that killed my husband told me about them. They taught me a lot about hunting. And other things.” Dr. Barnes looked over at Sam and winked. “Nice stamina.” She said softly, with one eyebrow raised.  
Sam raised his eyebrows and sheepishly smiled back at Dr. Barnes before chuckling nervously. “Heh. Thanks, doc.” Still smiling, he looked over at Dean, who was giving him a judgmental stare. Sam smiled even bigger and shrugged.  
“Anyways, I would love to hear the rest of your story, but I do have patients waiting.” Dr. Barnes said as she got up from her chair.   
Both Dean and Sam stood up moments after Dr. Barnes. Sam extended his hand to her and Dr. Barnes shook it, smiling. Dean fiddled around in his jacket and pulled out a small white card; the business card they use when they are posing as law enforcement.  
“If you find the files, or can think of anything else, please give us a call.” Dean said, handing the card to Dr. Barnes. “Even if you can’t think of anything else.” He said, nodding his head toward Sam.  
Dr. Barnes chuckled lightly and took the card from Dean. “I will. Thanks.”  
“Come on, Dean.” Sam said sternly as he turned and headed toward the door. He opened it and held it open for Dean, who followed a few seconds later. Once out in the waiting room, Sam and Dean started to make their way to the front door. There was one more person in the waiting room now, sitting next to Mike. A young woman who appeared in her late twenties with red hair and freckles was showing him something on her phone. Wearing a nice blouse and dress pants, she was by far the best dressed out of everyone in the waiting room.   
Mike and the woman were talking quietly to each other and looked up when the brothers emerged from Dr. Barnes’ office. Sam nodded at Mike as both he and Dean walked through the waiting room. Mike nodded back before turning to the woman next to him and whispering something. The woman’s eyes snapped up and studied Sam and Dean for several seconds before she smiled. She immediately got up and quickly shuffled over towards Sam and Dean, standing between them and the front door.   
“Oh my goodness, it…it’s an honor to meet you both!” She exclaimed, practically yelling. Sam and Dean both took a half step backward in unison, trying to hide the looks of shock that had both appeared on their faces.   
“My name is Phoebe Melton. I’m such a big fan of yours! I’ve heard so many stories and read…so many stories…about you both.” Phoebe said, chuckling nervously. “I was a huge fan of the Supernatural books before I found out that all of this…and all of YOU…were real! I’ve been working with Mike recently and he’s been showing me a bunch of new things about hunting and I mean, I haven’t killed anything yet but I did see a werewolf a few weeks ago while I was on a hunt with Mike and I just really want to learn more about this lifestyle and about you-“  
“Phoebe.” Mike said, his head down, rubbing his eyes with his right hand. “We talked about this. Reel it back.”  
“Oh. Right. Sorry.” Phoebe said before taking a deep breath. “I just really want to say how honored I am to meet you. Can I take a picture with you? Is that OK?” Phoebe raised her phone up and smiled extremely wide before looking over at Mike, who let out a defeated sigh while staring at her. Phoebe lowered her hand with the phone in it as her smile vanished.  
“Right. Never mind. It was nice to meet you both.” Phoebe said as she slowly turned and walked back over toward Mike. She let out a heavy sigh as she sat down and began to fiddle around on her phone. Sam and Dean looked over at Mike, who mouthed “Sorry” and shook his head. Both Dean and Sam flashed a quick smile and nod.  
“It was nice to meet you, Phoebe.” Dean said, smiling.  
Looking up, Phoebe smiled and nodded. “You too, Dean.”  
“Come on, Romeo.” Sam said as he walked over to the door to the office and opened it, stepping outside.  
Dean scoffed and followed Sam outside into the parking lot.  
“Looks like you have your own personal Becky now, Dean. Congrats.” Sam said as he walked across the parking lot to the car.  
“Whatever, man.” Dean said as he unlocked the driver’s side door of the Impala and opened the door. “At least she’s cute.” He said as he slid into the seat.   
“Until she slips you a love potion, knocks you out, and ties you to a bed.” Sam said, opening his door and also sliding into his seat.   
“You liked it.” Dean said as he started the engine. “And hey, you had something with the doc back there. If you do end up going for it, let me know how it goes. I never want to sleep with someone that can get inside my head like that.”  
“You don’t want anyone in your head. Ever. Period.” Sam said, as Dean put the Impala into reverse and backed out of the parking spot.  
Dean rolled his eyes, shifted into drive, and pulled up to the edge of the side street, waiting to turn left onto the main road. “Where to now?”  
Sam checked his watch. “It’s eleven forty-five. You hungry?”  
“Always.” Dean said, pulling onto the main road. “I saw a diner a few miles back, we can get some lunch.”  
“Sounds like a plan.” Sam said as he played on his cell phone, still thinking about his interaction with Dr. Barnes.


	12. Chapter 12

"Thanks, Dr. Barnes." Mike said as he got up from the black leather chair in Dr. Barnes' office. "I wouldn't have been able to start mentoring someone without the help you've given me."  
"I'm so glad, Mike. You've made so much progress. You know you can call me anytime if you need guidance." Dr. Barnes said, smiling, as she made her way to the door to her office.  
Mike laughed and shook his head. "Phoebe is a handful, I might have to take you up on that."  
Dr. Barnes opened the door and stepped through to the waiting room, followed closely by Mike. Phoebe was sitting in the same seat she was earlier playing on her phone. She glanced up momentarily as Dr. Barnes and Mike exited, but promptly turned her attention back to her phone. Not breaking her concentration, Phoebe got up from her chair and pulled her coat out from the corner of the chair it was stuffed into.  
"I have to go pay, Phoebe. Give me one second." Mike said as he made his way to the reception desk. Pulling out his wallet, he opened it and removed three one hundred dollar bills and handed them to Natalie.  
"This is all I got for today. Does it bring me up to date?" he said, as Natalie quickly grabbed the bills, causing Mike to retract his hand, afraid he might lose it.  
"Sorry, Mike." Natalie said as she looked up. “I’m trying to finish out this week’s billing and I keep getting interrupted. I swear I’m going to have to sleep here in order to finish it.”  
"It's fine." Mike chuckled and smiled.  
"Yes, this will take care of last session and this session. You're all set." Natalie said as she slid the bills into a blue zippered bag. "Do you want to make an appointment for next week?"  
"I'll hold off for now." Mike said has he turned and glanced at Phoebe, who was rapidly tapping her phone and smiling. He turned back to Natalie and shook his head. "I think the Pep Squad might have a case for us."  
Natalie smiled. "Alright, just give us a call when you can."  
"Thanks." Mike said has he tapped the counter of the reception desk before turning around. He walked over to meet Phoebe at the front door, stopping a moment to pull his jacket off the hook to the right of the door to the office.  
"I think I found a case!" Phoebe exclaimed, jumping slightly with excitement.  
"Alright, tell me on the way. Where is it?" Mike said as he opened the right side of the double doors and walked through, holding it for Phoebe, who followed slowly behind him.  
"It's in Eldon, Missouri. Looks like something is breaking into cemeteries and eating bodies. Cops think it's some sort of wild animal, but I'm thinking a ghoul. What do you think?" Phoebe said as she tapped on her phone, almost tripping over her own feet as she walked across the parking lot to Mike's car.  
"Maybe. How many bodies so far?" Mike asked as he slid his key into the driver's side door and unlocked it.  
"Four over the last two weeks." Phoebe said as she tried the passengers' side door handle and was unable to open the door. Mike opened his door and slid into the driver's seat, reaching over and popping the lock up on the passenger's door before closing his door and starting the engine. Phoebe opened her door and stepped inside, still focused on her cell phone.  
"Phoebe. Door." Mike said as he shifted his old raggedy pickup truck into reverse.  
"Oh...right." Phoebe said as she reached over and pulled her door closed. Mike rolled his eyes and backed out of the parking spot before shifting into drive and pulling up to the entrance to the side street.  
"Are we going there right now or are we stopping for lunch?" Phoebe asked as she typed the address of the Eldon Police Station into the map app she has on her phone.  
"We can get some burgers on the way. Let's get going." Mike said as he pulled onto the main road and headed for the highway.  
Twenty minutes later, Mike looked down at his stomach as it emitted a very loud gurgling noise. Exchanging glances with Phoebe, he shrugged.  
"I think we should stop for some food before we get further down the highway." Mike said, laughing lightly. Phoebe nodded and cheerfully tapped on her cell phone, trying to locate a fast food eatery close to where they were. Finding a nearby burger place, Phoebe tapped 'Directions' and hit 'Start'. A female voice began speaking, advising them to continue straight and take the next exit. Following the directions, Mike switched lanes into the far right lane and took the next exit. Taking a right at the stoplight at the end of the exit ramp, Mike continued straight, waiting for further directions from Phoebe's phone.  
Mike began to feel uneasy, his vision starting to become blurry. Feeling his fingers wrap tighter around the steering wheel, Mike shook his head and tried to focus back on the road. Blinking rapidly then squinting, his vision began to fade to white. Phoebe looked over at Mike, deeply concerned; the smile she persistently had on her face, gone.  
"Mike...are you OK?" Phoebe said, sliding her phone onto the dashboard and placing her left hand on his shoulder.  
Mike's grip on the steering wheel had tightened even more, his fingernails digging into his palms, causing streams of blood to begin to drip down his arms from his hands. Turning to his right, Mike blinked and was finally able to make out who was sitting next to him in his car. A young girl, probably not older than thirteen, with dark hair sat where Phoebe had just been. Mike opened his eyes in terror, recognizing the face staring back at him. The girl was staring at him with big brown eyes, completely covered in blood. Large splatters covering the length of her green t-shirt and jeans, extending all the way into her hair and across her pink headband. Trying to maintain his composure, Mike closed his eyes momentarily and turned his attention back to the road, trying to maintain control of his truck.  
"You didn't save me." The girl hissed, her voice distorted and raspy. "You let me DIE."  
"I...I didn't..." Mike stammered, tears welling up in his eyes. "I'm sorry, Maddie."  
"Sorry doesn't fix what you did. You watched those monsters tear me apart. You didn't move. Just stood there." Maddie growled back at him.  
Phoebe, frantically trying to pull Mike out of whatever hallucination he was in, started shaking Mike gently. Constantly turning to look at the road they were on, she grabbed a hold of the steering wheel and tried to keep the truck steady on the road. Unable to move the steering wheel more than a few millimeters to the left or right, she shifted in her seat, getting ready to stick her leg over and attempt to push the brake pedal.  
"Mike?! Mike...what's happening?" Phoebe shouted, trying to bring Mike back to reality as she maneuvered herself sideways in her seat.  
Mike could only hear the soft raspy voice coming from Maddie, everything else was quiet. Tears streaming down his face, he glanced over at Maddie as she instantly went from sitting to kneeling a few inches from his face. Her throat was ripped open, pieces of flesh dangling on each side, blood pouring from the wound.  
"Why did I have to die? I was only twelve years old." Maddie whispered, a subtle gurgling sound now prevalent when she spoke. "You know what you need to do. You have to make sure you can't hurt anyone else."  
"I'm...so sorry, Maddie. It's all my fault." Mike whispered between sobs. "I should have done something."  
"You can do something now, Mike. You need to stop yourself before you hurt someone else." Maddie whispered back, placing her blood-soaked hand on his right cheek.  
Mike nodded, his chest heaving rapidly as he wiped his eyes and looked at the road ahead. They had traveled several miles down the road they were on and about to cross over a bridge. Mike pressed his foot firmly down on the gas pedal and revved the engine.  
Phoebe, desperately trying to slide her leg between Mike's legs and press the brake pedal, jerked backward as Mike pressed the gas pedal. She watched in horror as the speedometer steadily and rapidly pushed from forty, to fifty, to over sixty miles per hour.  
"MIKE!" Phoebe screamed as she sat up and tried to push and pull on Mike. Mustering all of her strength through sheer adrenaline, she grabbed a hold of his shirt and pulled as hard as she could, tearing it. She looked back up at Mike with the ripped piece of cloth in her hand. He was staring directly at her, tears still streaming down his face.  
"It's all my fault. I'm going to fix it." Mike said in a calm voice, as the car bounced over the seam at the entrance of the bridge.  
Phoebe began to scream as she twisted around to face the passenger's side door. As she reached for the door handle, all the doors in the car locked. Trying the handle, she slammed her body against the door to push it open. She frantically tried to pull up on the door lock, her heart beating rapidly, drowning out the loud whirring of the revving engine. She reached into her back pocket and pulled out her pocket knife. Flipping it open, she began to jab at the door lock and window, attempting to escape the car.  
As the car approached the halfway point across the bridge, Mike rapidly jerked the wheel to the right, causing the tires to screech and slide. The truck slammed through the metal fencing and pipes lining the sides of the bridge, causing sparks to fly and breaking several windows on the truck as it scraped through. The truck sailed through the air and plummeted down several hundred feet to the rocky gorge below. The truck had flipped over in midair as it fell, Phoebe still screaming from inside. The truck landed at the bottom with a loud metallic thud, the impact completely flattening the vehicle. It teetered back and forth on a rock as blood slowly oozed out between the gaps in the twisted metal and broken windows. The blood began to pool and mix with the small stream that flowed through the gorge, turning the water a deep crimson color. Chunks of flesh and bone also began to squeeze out and mix with the water as the metal heap that was one the pickup truck stopped rocking back and forth.  
**\------------------**  
As Dean put the last bite of his burger in his mouth and began chewing, his cell phone rang. Quickly wiping his hands on a napkin, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and tapped the Answer button.  
"What's up, doc?" Dean answered cheerfully. Sam, sitting across the table from him at the diner they had found, rolled his eyes and took a bite of his salad.  
"Dean...something's happened." Dr. Barnes answered, her voice shaky and labored.  
Dean's smile faded and his eyes widened, causing Sam to lock eyes with Dean and raise his eyebrows. "What happened? What's wrong?" Dean asked.  
"I have a police scanner in my office, I listen to it when I'm alone working on patient files." Dr. Barnes said. "They...they said there was an accident on the bridge over Redrock Gorge. A car...drove off the side of the bridge."  
"A car? Do you know who it was?" Dean asked.  
"They gave a description of it." Dr. Barnes said, her voice breaking. "Dean...it was Mike's car. He's dead...so is Phoebe. The car flipped and...there's only pieces..."  
"Oh, no." Dean said as he lowered his head and rubbed his eyes with his right hand. "We're going to head to the scene. We'll let you know what we find."  
"Thank you. I don't know how this could have happened." Dr. Barnes said. Sharply breathing in, she began to cry.  
"It's not your fault. We're going to figure it out." Dean said, as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded wad of money. He pulled out two twenty dollar bills and threw them on the table. He pointed at Sam's plate and then to the Impala through the window of the diner, motioning for Sam to finish eating.  
"Stay in touch, boys." Dr. Barnes said. "Please."  
"Will do, doc." Dean said as he pressed End and put his phone in his jacket pocket. He stood up and sighed, the concern on his face replaced with anger.  
Sam looked up at Dean as he wiped his mouth with a napkin before taking a sip of his soda. "Dean...what's going on?"  
"Mike and Phoebe are dead. He drove his car off a bridge." Dean said as he marched over to the door to the diner and opened it.  
Sam let out a heavy defeated sigh and got up from the table, following Dean outside and to the Impala.


	13. Chapter 13

As the red and blue flashing lights straight ahead in the distance became more clear, Sam shifted in his chair and smoothed out his suit jacket. Getting changed into their Fed suits in the back seat of the Impala is less than ideal, but they did not want to waste time stopping at a gas station or returning to the motel.  
Slowing down, Dean rolled down his window as he reached the police barricade. There were three police cars, two parked diagonally blocking the entrance of the bridge, and one on the side of the road.  
"Can I help you gentlemen?" An officer said as he leaned down, peering through the driver's side window at Dean and Sam.  
Sam and Dean pulled their badges out of their jacket pockets at the same time and flipped them open.  
"Agents Van Zant and Rossington," Dean said, motioning to himself and then to Sam. "We're here about the truck that went Dukes of Hazzard off the bridge."  
"What do the feds care about a suicide?" The officer replied sternly.  
"We heard the description of the vehicle on the scanner, it belongs to a person of interest in a case we were working in the area." Sam interjected, he could tell Dean was getting peeved at the officer's attitude.  
The officer squinted at Sam before looking at Dean again. "Whatever. You can park over there next to the sign." The officer stood up straight and pointed to a faded metal sign about twenty feet behind them.  
"Thanks." Dean said back through clenched teeth as he rolled up his window and shifted into reverse. He carefully maneuvered the Impala off to the side of the road in front of the sign. Coughing lightly as he exited the car due to the plume of dust the car had kicked up, Dean met Sam next to the sign.  
"Redrock Gorge. Red rock? Do you see any red rocks?" Dean asked as he looked around. They both started walking toward the edge of the bridge where two police officers were speaking with each other. Flashing their badges at the officer standing at the barricade, both Dean and Sam leaned forward to get a glimpse of the scene of the crash.  
"Well, there's the gorge." Sam said as his eyes darted from left to right, taking in as much detail as possible. The giant vehicle-sized hole in the metal fencing on the bridge lead to a flattened heap of twisted metal resting on a few rocks about twenty feet from the left shore of the stream. A narrow dirt path lead down to the stream at the bottom on the right side of the gorge.  
Dean peered over the ledge at the almost one hundred foot drop. He groaned and half-stepped backward, steadying himself.  
Sam looked over at Dean and smiled. "You want me to take this one?"  
"I'm fine." Dean said, straightening back up. "Let's go."  
Both brothers walked toward the two officers, who pointed them to the dirt path. It took Sam about two minutes to arrive at the bottom. Dean had practically sprinted down, arriving a good thirty seconds before him.  
Catching his breath, Dean waited for Sam on the bank of the gorge at the edge of the stream.  
"You okay?" Sam asked, laughing lightly.  
"Shut up." Dean barked back at him.  
Carefully stepping on protruding rocks, both Sam and Dean made their way across the stream to the twisted and blood soaked heap of metal that was once the pickup truck. There was two police officers on the opposite bank of the stream, who both looked up and waved at Sam and Dean as the brothers stepped onto a makeshift wooden platform that surrounded the truck.  
Dean crouched down and studied what appeared to be the passenger's side of the truck. Partially dried blood covered the majority of the truck while bits and pieces of flesh dangled from the various bits of metal that were sticking out. Dean leaned forward, something reflecting light catching his eye. He pulled a rubber glove out of his jacket pocket and slipped it over his right hand.  
"I think I got something." Dean said, reaching his hand down toward the object that caught his eye. Sam, already on the opposite side of the truck from Dean, stood up and peered over the top of it.  
Dean strained and wiggled his fingers, feeling the object barely touch his fingertips. "Hey, Stretch Armstrong, come here." Dead said, retracting his hand.  
Sam made his way over to Dean, who pointed down at the reflective object jammed between two pieces of metal inside what used to be the passenger's side door. Already gloved, Sam kneeled down and slid his right hand between the metal and wooden platform. He brushed the object with his finger, moving it slightly, before he was able to squeeze it between his pointer and middle finger and lift it up.  
Rocking back on his heels and standing up, Sam looked at the object he had retrieved...it was a cell phone. Wiping the blood off the cracked screen with his thumb, Sam handed it to Dean.  
Dean stood up and studied the cell phone. He remembered seeing Phoebe in the waiting room of Dr. Barnes' office, her phone had a pink and white case with a giant sunflower on the back. Turning the phone over and seeing the same design, Dean let out a heavy sigh.  
"Son of a bitch.” He said as he handed the phone back to Sam. "It's Phoebe's. If she was in the passenger's seat, Mike must have been driving."  
Sam sighed and waved at the officers on the side of the creek, motioning for them to come over. They only moved a few feet closer to the shore, so Sam walked over to speak with them. Dean yanked off his bloody glove and pulled out his cell phone. While Sam was explaining the situation to the officers and showing them the phone, Dean dialed Dr. Barnes.  
After a few rings, she answered. "Dean?"  
"It's them. We found Phoebe's cell phone in the wreckage on the passenger's side…and, based on the amount of blood, Mike had to have been driving."  
Dr. Barnes exhaled sharply, fighting back tears. "Was it an accident?"  
"We don't know yet. The car is a pancake. We'll head over to your office after we're done. Will you be around?" Dean asked.  
"I'll wait for you. I cancelled all my appointments for the rest of the day." Dr. Barnes replied.  
"Mmhmm. Awesome." Dean mumbled before hitting the End button on his phone and sliding it back into his jacket.  
Dean looked over at Sam, who was still speaking with the officers, before turning around to see if there were any other onlookers behind him. Not seeing anyone, Dean pulled an EMF detector out of his pocket and extended the antenna. Crouching back down, he slowly waved the device back and forth over various parts of the wreckage. The detector warbled slightly with each pass, but did not illuminate more than one of the five lights on the top of the device. Dean pushed the antenna back down and slid it back into his pocket. He walked around the wooden platform and across several rocks to meet Sam on the bank of the stream. Still holding his bloody glove, Dean looked at the officers and lifted it up. One of the officers stepped toward him and opened an evidence bag that seemed to already contain Sam's bloody glove. Dean dropped his glove inside and smiled. "Thanks." He said with a nod.  
"Good find, Agent. We'll hopefully be able to trace the phone and get a name." The officer said as he placed the evidence bag on the ground behind him, next to several other evidence containers and bags. "At least your case is closed now, I guess."  
"Yeah, I guess so. Thanks guys." Sam replied as he nodded at Dean to follow him. Carefully making their way back across the stream to the side they came down, Dean hurried his pace to keep up with Sam's giant steps.  
"What case?" Dean asked, following behind Sam.  
"I told them that the car was stolen and we believed it was involved in drug trafficking." Sam replied as he made a final leap onto the bank of the stream.  
"Oh, good one." Dean replied as he stepped onto the bank behind Sam. "I checked for EMF, nothing crazy."  
"So probably not ghost possession. We got here less than two hours after the crash...EMF wouldn't have dissipated that fast." Sam said as he started the long walk back up the dirt path to the top of the gorge.  
"You thinking demon?" Dean asked.  
"Doesn't track with a demon...why kill the meat suit, you know? Wait...you think we might be dealing with soulless people again?" Sam said as he reached the top of the path, stopping to wait for Dean.  
"I hope not." Dean said as he quickly walked past Sam, headed for the Impala. "I told Dr. Barnes we would stop by after we were done."  
"Dean, she's the only connection between all the victims." Sam said as he opened the passenger's side door and slid in.  
"Well, she can't be a demon, shifter, werewolf, or a bunch of other crap because of the silver and devil's traps in her office." Dean replied as he opened his door and stepped into the driver's seat.  
"I don't know man. Something that targets hunters, turning them into rage machines. Hunters with...psychological issues, maybe? Ugh. I see a lot of research in my future." Sam said as he tilted his head back and closed his eyes.  
"Don't act like you don't enjoy it." Dean said as he started the engine and shifted into reverse.  
"Yeah, yeah." Sam mumbled, smiling.  
Dean shifted into drive and turned to the left, doing a complete U-turn. Straightening the car out, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. "Call Dr. Barnes and let her know we're on our way." He said as he dropped his phone into Sam's lap.  
Flinching and snapping his head forward, Sam grabbed the cell phone and pressed the Call button next to Dr. Barnes' name, which was still in Dean's recent call list.  
After the line rang for a little over forty seconds, Dr. Barnes' voicemail picked up. "You have reached Dr. Ellen Barnes. I am unable to answer the phone. Please leave a message and I will return your call."  
Sam raised his eyebrow and began speaking after he heard the beep. "Hey Dr. Barnes, it's Sam Winchester. We're on our way, just making sure you're still around. Give us a ring back. Thanks." Pressing the End button, Sam stared at the screen for a moment.  
"She didn't answer?" Dean asked.  
"No. I'm gonna call her office." Sam said as he began scrolling through Dean's recently dialed numbers, looking for the phone call they made to the office earlier that day. Finding it a few moments later, Sam tapped it and pressed the Call button. The line rang for almost a minute before an answering machine picked up. "You have reached the office of Dr. Ellen Barnes. Nobody is available-" Sam pressed the End button before the recording finished playing.  
Sam looked over at Dean and shook his head. Tightening his grip on the steering wheel, Dean pressed his foot harder on the gas pedal, revving the engine.  
"Something's wrong, Sam." Dean said as he drove straight down the road back to the highway.


	14. Chapter 14

The tires on the Impala screeched as Dean took a sharp right turn into the parking lot of Dr. Barnes' office. Slamming on the brakes right outside the entrance to her office, he shifted into park and yanked the keys out of the ignition. Sam already had his door halfway open before the car came to a complete stop.  
Rapidly pushing his door open, Dean leaped out of the driver's seat and bounded over to the trunk of the Impala, meeting Sam, who was already there. He unlocked the trunk and lifted up the cover, while Sam reached in and grabbed their respective pistols.  
Handing Dean his and tucking his own into the back of his pants, Sam turned and sprinted to the front door of Dr. Barnes' office. Dean closed the trunk and walked up behind Sam as he pulled and pushed on the door, causing the metal frame of the door to rattle but not open. Rapidly patting his pants and jacket, Sam finally felt the case for his lock pick inside his left jacket pocket. Pulling it out of his pocket and unzipping it, he crouched down and slid the tools out of the case.  
Dean turned around and kept watch as Sam maneuvered the pick in the lock, carefully pressing on the tumblers. After about twenty seconds, Sam twisted the torque wrench to the left and the lock disengaged. Dean turned back around and pushed the door open as Sam fumbled around with his lock picks, putting them back inside the case before zipping it and placing it back inside his jacket pocket. Sam slid his pistol out of his waistband and clicked off the safety, following after Dean.  
Dean walked inside slowly, scanning left and right, with his pistol slightly raised. Seeing nobody in the immediate area, he continued forward. Stopping in front of the reception desk, Dean leaned over the counter to see if anyone was behind the desk. Not seeing Natalie or anything else, Dean turned to look at Sam, who was slowly closing the front door.  
"Sam." Dean whispered.  
Sam looked over at him as Dean pointed his gun at the floor under his feet. Looking down, Sam stepped back. The faded welcome mat that used to cover the entire floor was folded back in the bottom right corner, exposing the devil's trap under it. A small two inch gap appeared to have been scratched out of the outline in the devil's trap.  
Sam looked up at Dean and mouthed "Demons?" at him.  
Dean shrugged and pointed his pistol at Dr. Barnes' office. The door was not completely closed, so Dean moved slightly to his right and left, trying to see through the small gap between the door and door frame.  
Pointing his gun at the door and flicking his wrist, Dean moved toward the office door as Sam nodded and stepped quietly, following closely behind him.  
Dean approached the door and stopped. He turned around and looked at Sam, who nodded and slightly raised his gun at the door. Dean nodded back and positioned himself on the right side of the door frame.  
Looking back at Sam, Dean moved his right hand to the door, gently resting his fingertips on it.  
"Three...two...one..." Dean whispered. A moment after he said "one", Dean forcefully pushed the door open, causing it to slam against the back wall of Dr. Barnes' office.  
Sam charged in, rapidly sweeping his eyes and gun back and forth over every inch of the office.  
"It's clear." Sam said as he slid his pistol into the back of his waistband again.  
Dean rounded the corner and stopped dead in his tracks. Dr. Barnes' office was a mess. Papers and folders covered the floor and chairs, one of the black leather chairs was tipped over, and the middle shelf on the bookshelf in the corner of the room was cracked, several books scattered on the floor in front of it.  
"Holy crap. What the hell happened?" Dean said, still looking over the room as he slowly stepped inside.  
"I don't know, but it looks like Dr. Barnes put up a fight." Sam said as he made his way over to Dr. Barnes' desk.  
Dean slid his pistol into his jacket pocket and walked over next to Sam.  
"Found her phone." Sam said as he wiggled his wrist at Dean, her cell phone in his hand.  
"Great. So now this thing isn't only going after the hunters, it's going after the shrink that helps them." Dean said, slamming his hand on Dr. Barnes' desk.  
"I don't see any blood, so this thing obviously took her alive." Sam said turning around and looking around the office once more. Sam's eyes paused on the floor under the office door. He tilted his head sideways and lightly tapped Dean's back with his left hand.  
"Dude, check it out." Sam said as he made his way over to the door.  
Dean turned around and looked at the black painted devil's trap under the door to Dr. Barnes' office. Sam crouched down and studied it.  
"It's not broken." Sam said, running his fingers around the outside of the design.  
"Wait...so the one at the main doors was broken, but this one wasn't?" Dean said, moving toward Sam.  
"And her office is trashed but the waiting room isn't?" Sam said as he stood up and brushed his hand on his pantleg.  
"Something's off. This doesn't make any sense." Dean said as he turned around and returned to Dr. Barnes' desk. "I'm gonna to look for her address. Go check the front desk for anything useful."  
Sam nodded and made his way through the waiting area to the front desk. He stepped through the gap between the far left wall and the wall incorporating the reception desk and looked around. Normal office stationary was neatly organized around the small cubicle. All folders, files, and other documents were all put away, leaving only a single notepad and a pen visible on the top of the desk. The computer monitor was shut off and the chair pushed in.  
Sam pulled the computer chair out and sat down, pressing the power button on the monitor and wiggling the mouse with his right hand. The screen remained black as the light on the monitor changed from green to yellow. Sighing, Sam reached down under the desk and felt around on the computer tower until he located the power button. Pressing it, he sat back and waited for the computer to start up.  
Sam pushed back in the chair a few inches and tried opening each of the several drawers on the desk to the left and right side of him. All three drawers on his left were locked, while the bottom drawer on the right side was unlocked. As Sam pulled the drawer open, a half empty box of pens tipped over.  
Glancing in the drawer, only the box of pens and an empty water bottle were inside. Sam closed the drawer right as the login screen of the computer appeared. Ignoring the computer and shifting his attention to the column of drawers on his left, Sam pulled out his lock pick once again and began to pick the lock, right as Dean appeared in the doorway of Dr. Barnes' office.  
"I got nothing. No address, no mail...and her phone is dead." Dean said as he sighed and started walking toward the reception desk.  
Sam grunted lightly and twisted the torque wrench, finally hearing the lock click and disengage.  
"Finally...piece of crap." He muttered as he slid the lock pick out of the lock and put it back into the case.  
Dean knocked his knuckles on the outside of reception desk counter and sighed. "You got anything?  
"Maybe." Sam said as he slid open the top drawer of the reception desk.  
"Staples, rubber bands, sticky notes..." He mumbled as he searched through the desk. Finding nothing of import, he closed the top drawer and moved into the middle one. Pulling it open, something bright and metallic caught his eye, shocking him and making him jerk backward.  
"Whoa. Check this out." Sam said as he pulled the object out from the drawer. Spinning it around in his palm, Sam handed the angel blade to Dean.  
"What is Natalie the receptionist doing with an angel blade?" Dean asked, studying the blade.  
"Protection? I mean, she works in an office with a revolving door of rowdy hunters who deal with all sorts of evil on a daily basis." Sam replied as he shrugged and turned his chair toward the computer.  
"I guess." Dean said as he twirled the angel blade around in his hand and turned around, facing the front doors to the office. Dean made his way over to the window to the left of the doors and peered out through a small space between the blinds. Looking down at the salt line, he moved the blinds around throughout the length of the window.  
"Salt line is still intact over here." Dean said, stepping back and moving back toward Sam.  
"I thought we ruled out a ghost already." Sam said, typing away on the computer. He had already cracked the password and was currently going through the various files and folders on the desktop.  
"Just trying to make conversation while you do your thing, Brain." Dean scoffed and gestured toward Sam.  
Sam sat back in his chair and looked at Dean with a half-smile. "Did you just make a ‘Pinky and The Brain’ reference?" He said with a raised eyebrow.  
"Yeah. And? I watched cartoons." Dean said, defensively. "Remember when dad would be on a hunt and we'd spend all morning watching cartoons and eating cereal?"  
"I do. Only thing that's changed is that now you watch 'Dr. Sexy, MD' instead of cartoons." Sam replied, laughing.  
"Don't judge me, Sam." Dean said with a flat expression.  
Sam raised his hands at Dean and leaned forward, typing and clicking on the computer again.  
A couple minutes of awkward silence later, Sam pushed his chair back from the desk and stood up as the computer began to shut down.  
Dean looked up at him and stood up from one of the chairs in the waiting room as Sam turned around and slid out from behind the desk area.  
"Nothing. It's all just normal office stuff. Bookkeeping program, accounting documents, and an appointment calendar." Sam said as he walked over and stood next to Dean.  
"Well, we need to find the doc. Let's head back to the motel and see if we can find a home address for her. I'll look for the address, you dig into the lore and see if we can figure out who...or what...might be doing this." Dean said as he turned toward the doors to the office.  
Opening the door, both Sam and Dean made their way to the Impala and quickly got inside. Sam reached his hand back to remove the pistol from his waistband before placing it inside the glove box of the car. Dean started the engine and shifted into drive, doing a U-turn and making his way to the end of the side street.  
Sam tilted his head back and closed his eyes, letting out a heavy sigh. Feeling his mind go blank and his body relax, Sam drifted to sleep a few minutes later as Dean made his way to the highway and back to their motel.  
**\---------------------------**  
"Sammy. Wake up." Dean's voice pierced through Sam's mind, jolting him awake.  
"Huh?" Sam mumbled, wiping dried saliva from his mouth. He blinked rapidly and looked forward to see the Impala was parked in the parking lot of the motel.  
"Have a nice nap, Sleeping Beauty? You zonked out so fast, I thought someone roofied you." Dean said, laughing lightly.  
"I'm fine." Sam said, running his hands through his hair before clearing his throat.  
Dean smiled and opened his door, stepping out into the parking lot, closing the door behind him. The sun was just starting to set and the wind chill had dropped considerably, causing Dean to pinch closed his suit jacket and briskly walk toward the door to their motel.  
Sam opened his door and stepped out, taking a moment to stretch after he stood up. He closed the car door and walked over to the sidewalk as Dean turned the motel room key in the lock and opened the door.  
Seeing a human-shaped figure sitting on the edge of Sam's bed, Dean quickly reached into his jacket and pulled out his pistol, clicking off the safety and cocking the hammer back.  
"Don't move!" Dean yelled, pointing his pistol at the figure. "Hands up!"  
The figure raised its hands and stood up as Sam clicked on the light.  
Dean raised his eyebrows and lowered his pistol.  
"Dr. Barnes?" Sam said as he moved next to Dean and shut the motel room door behind him.


	15. Chapter 15

Dr. Barnes slowly lowered her hands and sighed heavily. Her shirt was torn on the left side and her jacket was covered in what appeared to be either dirt or dust. Trying and failing to smooth out her wrinkled skirt, Dr. Barnes stepped forward into the light. Her hair was tangled and disheveled, and her make-up smudged, revealing a black eye. Dr. Barnes was clutching a tissue that had spots of blood on it from what appeared to be a cut on her lip.  
"Please don't shoot me." Dr. Barnes said, her voice shaky.  
"We're not going to shoot you, doc." Dean said as he clicked the hammer back up on his pistol and slid it into his jacket pocket.  
"We are gonna test you, though. You know the drill." Dean said as he slid his silver-plated pocket knife out of his pocket and flipped it open.  
Dr. Barnes sighed and took the knife from him before lightly dragging it across the lower part of her forearm. Blood dripped down her arm and a few droplets fell on the floor before she pressed the tissue onto the wound. Dean pulled out a metal flask from the inside pocket of his jacket and traded it for the knife.  
"Cheers." Dr. Barnes said as she unscrewed the flask and took a sip of the holy water that was inside. She screwed the cap back on and handed it back to Dean.  
"Satisfied?" Dr. Barnes said as she put her hands on her hips.  
"For now." Dean said, suspiciously, as he put the flask back inside his jacket pocket and the knife back in his pocket.  
"What happened, Dr. Barnes? We came from your office." Sam said, as he walked over to Dr. Barnes. Placing his right hand on her shoulder, he carefully led her over to one of the chairs at the table in the motel room. Limping slightly as she walked, Dr. Barnes sat down at the table and rubbed her eyes with her fingers.  
"I was attacked. Some person in an all-black outfit, face mask and gloves included, broke into my office and tried to either kidnap or kill me." Dr. Barnes said, gently blotting her lip with the tissue.  
"What do you mean 'either'?" Sam asked, sitting down in the chair across the table from Dr. Barnes.  
"Well, I think he wanted to kidnap me, originally. He took one of his gloves off before we fought and kept trying to put his hand on my head. Every time he would get close, his hand would glow with this intense orange light. I kept struggling and fought back so he ran, but he landed a few hits first...as you can see." Dr. Barnes said as she motioned to her face and cut lip.  
"Hey, at least you fought back. If you didn't, the next body we found could have been yours." Dean said as he walked over to the edge of his bed, took off his jacket, and threw it on the bed.  
"I may wear heels and a skirt, but I know how to hold my own in a fight." Dr. Barnes said as she sat back in her chair and smiled. Wincing at the cut in her lip when she smiled, she blotted it with the tissue again and lightly chuckled.  
Sam smiled and exchanged glances with Dean, who shrugged and gave his patented 'I'm impressed' smile. He walked over to the surprisingly spacious mini-fridge that was in the bottom part of the makeshift closet next to the bathroom. Dean opened the door and removed three beers before closing it again. He walked over to the table and handed one to Sam, and offered one to Dr. Barnes.  
"You want a beer, doc?" Dean asked, as he wiggled the bottle in his hand.  
"Of course." Dr. Barnes said as she grabbed the beer from Dean. Positioning the top of the bottle on edge of the table, she quickly smacked her hand down, causing the bottle cap to fly off the bottle and into the air. Catching it with her left hand, she placed it on the table before taking a sip of the beer.  
"And please, call me Ellen." She said as she raised her eyebrows at Sam and smirked.  
Clearing his throat to break Ellen's stare at Sam, Dean raised his bottle.  
"Well, here's to kicking it in the ass, Ellen." He said as he leaned in and clinked bottles with Sam and Ellen.  
All three took a sip of their beer and smiled. Sam paused for a moment after he drank and raised one of his eyebrows.  
"Wait. How did you know what motel we were staying at?" Sam asked before taking another sip of his beer.  
"Adrian was staying at the Pilot Motel and I figured since you were investigating his death, you would stay there as well to break into his room." Ellen replied.  
"Huh. Are we that predictable?" Sam said, laughing.  
"Well, not really. I slipped the front desk kid a twenty and he told me what room 'the tall guy and the pretty boy' were in." Ellen said, mimicking air quotes with her fingers.  
"Pretty boy?" Dean mumbled under his breath as he turned around and walked back over to his bed.  
Sam smiled and scratched his head before running his fingers through his hair. Turning his attention back to Ellen, he leaned in.  
"So, you have any idea who might be doing this?" Sam asked.  
"Not a clue. The existence of my office is all word-of-mouth, so you need to have a current or former patient refer you and answer questions before we provide the address...as I'm sure you know." Ellen replied before taking another sip of her beer.  
"I have to admit, it’s a very thorough process. You only see hunters?" Sam asked as he opened his laptop and hit the power button.  
"Yes, both active and retired hunters." Ellen answered before she chugged the last part of her beer.  
"Retired hunters. Heh. I forget it's possible to retire from hunting. Always figured me and Dean would just go until we can't physically do it anymore...if we even make it to that point." Sam replied as he started typing on his laptop.  
Ellen looked up at Sam and pushed his laptop closed with her hand. Retracting his fingers, the laptop clicked and latched closed. Sam looked up at her inquisitively and placed his hands on top of his laptop, interlacing his fingers.  
"You know, you don't have to be so pessimistic all the time, Sam. The world would still be turning if you and Dean weren't hunting anymore. I've helped dozens of hunters learn what retirement is, as impossible as that sounds. When you do something so much and for so long that it becomes a lifestyle, it's hard to let it go. It becomes an addiction...and just like drinking or smoking, it can run you right into the ground." Ellen said as she leaned up in her chair toward Sam and continued.  
"The most difficult part for a lot of people isn't what to do after they leave the lifestyle. Some replace one addiction with another, while others live off the grid away from everyone and everything else for the rest of their lives. Each person has their own way of coping; their own way of finding themselves. But, from what I've seen, the hardest part is finding something that makes them as happy as hunting does." Ellen said as she reached her right hand over and placed it on top of Sam's hands, squeezing lightly.  
"Are you happy, Sam?" Ellen asked as she gazed into Sam's eyes and tilted her head to the side.  
Sam let out a sigh and averted his eyes, looking down at Ellen's hand resting over his.  
Sam opened his mouth ready to reply, when Dean interrupted by abruptly and loudly clearing his throat.  
"Don't mean to break up the therapy session, Dr. Phil, but we kind of have a homicidal nutjob on the loose that's killing our own." Dean replied before he leaned down and removed another beer from the mini-fridge.  
Sam cleared his throat and smiled, slowly sliding his hands out from under Ellen's hand.  
"All I'm saying is that I could really help you two. Once you get out of the business. Or sooner." Ellen said as she raised her arms and shrugged.  
"No offense to you, doc...but I knew long ago that my shot at a normal life was over. I've tried the domestic 'white picket fence' life. Hell, me and Sam both have. No matter what we do, we get dragged back in. It's inevitable." Dean said before taking a sizable gulp from his beer.  
Ellen took a sip of her beer and turned, looking straight at Dean.  
"Maybe you were so uncomfortable with the idea of relaxing and settling down that you let it drag you back in." Ellen smiled and raised her eyebrows at Dean before taking another sip of her beer.  
Dean looked up at Ellen with a stern face and narrowed his eyes at her. Nor breaking her stare, Ellen smirked slightly back at him.  
"Maybe you're right...but it doesn't help us with the crap fest we got going on now." Dean said as he sighed and lowered his head before picking at the label on his beer.  
Sam, shifting his gaze from Ellen to Dean every few seconds, cleared his throat.  
"Right. Let's get to work and find this guy." Sam said as he flipped his laptop back open and began typing.  
Ellen sighed and sat back in her hair, folding her hands in her lap. She looked over at the mini-fridge and stood up out of her chair. She took a step toward the fridge and stopped, she could feel her legs shaking, causing her balance to shift. Trying to steady herself, she placed her left hand on the table and exhaled sharply.  
"Whoa...whoa there, Doc. You sit back down. I'll get you another beer." Dean said as lunged himself toward Ellen and swiftly hooked his arm under her arm to support her, before shifting Ellen backward into the chair again.  
"I'm fine. Adrenaline is starting to wear off, I guess." Ellen said, softly chuckling.  
Dean shook his head as Ellen sat down. He walked over to the fridge and removed a beer, uncapping it for her before handing it over. Ellen nodded at Dean and took a sip.  
"Alright, so take us through what happened at your office...as much detail as you remember." Sam said, looking up at Ellen from behind his laptop.


	16. Chapter 16

Ellen sighed heavily and sat back in her chair, closing her eyes so she could remember as much detail about the attack as possible.  
"Well, after I hung up with you, I was pretty upset. I asked Natalie to cancel the rest of my appointments for the day, which she did...I only had two. About twenty minutes later, I sent Natalie home. She left and I returned to my office and started working on case files from patients earlier in the day. Heh, I guess the Winchesters aren't the only ones that throw themselves into work after something traumatic." Ellen said, smiling shyly.  
"So Natalie left? Did she lock the door?" Sam asked, typing away on his laptop. Catching himself smiling for a moment at Ellen's comment, he cleared his throat and focused back on his screen.  
"Probably. She always locks up when she leaves, no matter what. Why?" Ellen replied.  
"The door was locked when we got there. We had to pick it." Dean replied as he sat down on the edge of Sam's bed.  
"I locked it before I left to come here. After I fought back, the guy ran off. I mean, the last thing I want is someone walking in and grabbing patient files. Imagine what a demon or other monster could do with all that personal info." Ellen said as she took a large gulp of her beer.  
Sam perked up and looked at Dean. Dean shrugged back at him.  
"When we got there, there was a broken devil's trap at the front door, but the one at your office door was still intact. You said the guy ran after you fought? Did he leave out the front door?" Sam said.  
"Yeah, I chased after him but he disappeared after he left out the front door. So…wait. You think a demon or something came in to try and kidnap me or steal my patient files? For what? Blackmail?" Ellen replied.  
"Wait...that doesn't make any sense. If she was attacked in her office, how could a demon get in? Devil's trap would have stopped it.” Dean said as he stood up and made his way over to the table.  
"So it's not a demon." Sam said.  
"Or a ghost." Dean added.  
"You said his hand glowed orange as he was trying to touch your head?" Sam asked, still typing.  
"You thinking a type of djinn?" Dean said as he walked over behind Sam before leaning back against the wall.  
"Maybe, but their hands usually light up blue, right?" Sam asked as he searched for information about djinn. "Did you spot any tattoos on him or anything?"  
"No, I couldn't see his arms. The sweatshirt was pretty tight. The guy wasn't skinny or fat...just kind of pudgy." Ellen said as she shrugged.  
"Chubby guy with glowing hands. There's gotta be something in the lore with that." Dean said, sarcastically.  
Sam rolled his eyes as Dean walked over to his bag and grabbed their dad's journal. Quickly sitting down on the edge of his bed, Dean bounced momentarily due to the springiness of the bed. Steadying himself, he flipped open the journal and began thumbing through the pages.  
About five minutes later, Dean sighed and put the journal down on the bed next to him. He grabbed his jacket off the bed and removed his pistol and the angel blade they found in the reception desk earlier.  
Ellen glanced over at the shiny blade in Dean’s hand and raised her eyebrows.  
“Whoa, what the hell is that?” She asked motioning to the angel blade in Dean’s hand.  
Dean raised his eyebrow and looked at Dr. Barnes.  
“An…angel blade?” Dean responded, confused.  
“Oh wow. I’ve never seen one in real life. Can I take a look at it?” Ellen said as she leaned forward in her chair toward Dean.  
Dean and Sam exchanged looks of confusion before looking back at Ellen.  
“Ellen, we got that out of a drawer in the reception desk at your office. You’ve never seen it before?” Sam asked as she pushed the top of his laptop down slightly.  
“What? No, I’ve only read about them and heard stories from hunters who have seen them. You found that in Natalie’s desk?” Ellen responded.  
Dean stood up and walked over to the table in front of Ellen. He spun the angel blade around in his palm and handed it to her, hilt first. Ellen grabbed it, held it up in her hand, and studied the craftsmanship while moving it from hand to hand to admire the balance and weight of the blade.  
Dean looked at Sam and nodded his head to the right, away from the table, wanting Sam to follow him. Sam got up from the table and walked over to meet Dean, who was standing between their beds.  
“Receptionist has a secret angel blade stashed in her desk? I think we need to have a chat with Natalie again.” Dean said, lowering his voice so Ellen can’t hear.  
“Yeah, I’ll find her address. Do you want Ellen to come with?” Sam asked.  
Dean smiled and slapped Sam on the arm with his right hand.  
“Nah, you stay here and keep her company, just text me the address when you find it. I got this one, Sammy.” Dean said, winking and smiling.  
“Dean, I’m not going to-“ Sam began to say.  
“I’m heading out, be back later. You two kids behave.” Dean interrupted, as he grabbed his jacket off his bed and flung it over his shoulder. He turned and looked at Sam, smiling once more, before he turned around and exited out the front door of the motel.  
Sam scoffed before he turned and smiled at Ellen, rocking back and forth on his heels.  
“So, want to help find out what this is?” Sam asked as he made his way back to the table and sat back down.  
“Sure. Let’s dig in.” Ellen said as she set the angel blade down on the table and smiled at Sam.  
Sam nodded at Ellen before focusing on his laptop screen. He had been secretly searching for Natalie's address for the past few minutes, and had just gotten lucky.  
Coyly smiling at Ellen, he grabbed his phone off the table and sent a text message to Dean:  
"Found her. 218 Snyder Ave. Let me know if you need backup."  
He hit send and placed his phone back on the table. Sensing Ellen's boredom, Sam watched her eyes move around the room before she sighed.  
"I have a few lore books in my bag, if you wanted one." Sam said, motioning to his bulky duffel back sitting on the floor to the right of his bed.  
Ellen nodded and braced herself on the table and back of the chair, ready to get up. Sam waved his hand at Ellen.  
"No, no, no. I got it." Sam said as he stood up and walked over to his duffel bag.  
Ellen smiled and sat back in her chair. Sam bent over and began rummaging through his duffel bag, moving around various documents and pieces of clothing as he searched for the book. Ellen found her eyes wandering to Sam's behind as he was bent over, admiring how toned and firm it appeared through his suit pants.  
"Here we go." Sam mumbled as he stood back up with a dirty and water-damaged book in his hand.  
"It looks like crap, but this has a lot of occult lore and mythology in it." Sam said as he took a few steps toward Ellen and extended the book to her.  
"Sounds like a good read. Thanks." Ellen said as she took the book from Sam and studied the cover of it. Brushing flakes of dirt and dust off the cover, she set it on the table and shifted in her chair to face the table.  
Sam began to walk back to his chair when he noticed a very large gash in Ellen's lower right leg extending from her mid-calf to a few inches shy of her knee. Dried blood and other debris covered the wound, which appeared to be more than superficial.  
"Ellen, where did you get that?" Sam asked as he kneeled down next to Ellen and gestured to the wound on her leg.  
"Oh, I think I got it during the melee at my office. It took a while to stop bleeding." Ellen said as she glanced down momentarily before returning her attention to the lore book.  
"It's a really deep cut, I'm surprised it's still not bleeding. Let me patch you up." Sam said as he stood back up and walked over to the bathroom. He grabbed the container of dental floss off the bathroom sink and slid the sewing needle out from the inside of the container. Sam and Dean have been using dental floss to sew up their various cuts and gashes for years that keeping a sewing needle inside the floss container became a necessity.  
Sam emerged from the bathroom with the floss, a few towels, and a cup of warm water and walked over to Dean's duffel bag that was on the floor to the left of his bed. He searched through for a few moments before retrieving a half-full bottle of whiskey. Returning to the table, Sam grabbed his chair and pulled it over directly next to Ellen. He sat down and motioned at Ellen's leg.  
"Alright, let me see." Sam said as he scooted his chair back a few inches.  
Ellen sighed heavily and rolled her eyes before lifting up her leg toward Sam.  
Sam gently turned Ellen's ankle and leg before setting it in his lap. He slid off her shoe and placed it to the right of his chair. He moved back in his chair and placed one towel on the floor in between them.  
"This is going to hurt. Fair warning." Sam said as he uncapped the bottle of whiskey and readied it, about to pour it on her wound.  
"Not my first rodeo, Sam. Just do it." Ellen said as she placed a firm grip onto the side of the table and braced herself.  
Sam nodded and poured a generous amount of whiskey over the wound in Ellen's leg.  
Ellen closed her eyes tight and winced, squeezing harder onto the table as the whiskey strung the open gash and freed the debris caught in it.  
Sam tightened his grip on Ellen's leg as her muscle twitched and she tried to retract from the pain.  
"You okay? I'm gonna clean this up, you mind threading the needle for me?" Sam asked as he put the bottle of whiskey on the floor to his left and picked up the cup of water and a clean towel.  
"I'm fine. If only my home economics teacher could see me now. Going from sewing pillows to sewing up cuts." Ellen said with a chuckle as she opened the floss container and pulled a strand from it about two feet long.  
Threading the floss through the needle, Ellen tied the end of it and set it back down on the table.  
Sam dipped the end of the clean towel into the cup of water and blotted around and on the wound. The gash was bleeding again, causing the white towel to become spotted with a deep crimson color.  
Ellen groaned as Sam finished cleaning up the wound and set down the towel and cup of water. He reached to his left and picked up the bottle of whiskey. He glanced up at Ellen to make sure she was alright before pouring whiskey on the wound again.  
Ellen groaned louder and grunted. She could feel the pain shoot up her leg, causing her leg to twitch again. Sam tightened his grip again and looked up at Ellen.  
"Sorry." Sam said as he grabbed the threaded needle off the table. "If you feel like you're going to pass out, don't fight it."  
"I'm good. Just make it quick." Ellen said as she shifted in her chair, bracing herself again.  
Sam positioned the needle on one side of the gash and quickly pushed it through the skin, over the gash, and through the skin on the other side, pulling the floss through.  
Ellen exhaled sharply and winced as Sam continued down the entire length of the cut.  
Sam pushed the needle through the last bit of skin and knotted the floss twice before pulling out his pocket knife and severing the remaining bit of floss. He looked up at Ellen, who was still conscious and patted her foot with his hand.  
"All set. How are you doing?" Sam said.  
"I've been better, but I'll live." Ellen said as she motioned her hand toward the bottle of whiskey. "It works on all wounds...outside and inside."  
Sam laughed and handed Ellen the bottle of whiskey and watched in awe as she downed a few sizable chugs directly from the bottle.  
"Thanks." Ellen smiled at Sam and handed the bottle back to him.  
Sam smiled back and replaced the cap on the bottle of whiskey before setting it down on the floor again. He reached to his right and picked up Ellen's shoe. He twirled it around in his hand before offering it back to her.  
"I'll give this to you to hang on to." Sam said.  
Ellen smiled and reached for the shoe. She looked into Sam's eyes as she slowly and gently ran her fingers over the top of Sam's hand as she took the shoe from him.  
Sam smiled softly and intertwined his fingers into hers. He nodded and shifted in his chair. Gently placing Ellen's leg back onto the ground, he leaned and slid his hand up the side of her neck before resting on her cheek. Staring into her eyes, Sam brushed a few locks of hair away from Ellen's face.  
Ellen smiled and ran her fingers through Sam's hair as Sam leaned in and pressed his soft lips against hers. She could feel the long absent warmth of another person's kiss as Sam began to run his fingers through her hair. Ellen involuntarily let out a quiet moan as she felt Sam's tongue playfully dance around on her lips as he pressed harder against her.  
Sam disengaged and smiled at Ellen.  
Ellen nodded and scooted up to the edge of her chair.  
Sam wrapped his left arm around Ellen's torso and hooked his right arm under her knees and lifted her up off the chair. He turned and walked a few steps toward his bed before gently laying Ellen down.  
Ellen bit her lower lip and raised an eyebrow at Sam as she stared at Sam at the foot of the bed.  
Sam smiled and undid the buttons on his shirt before taking it off and dropping it on the floor behind him. Being cautious of the wound on her leg, Sam climbed onto the bed and crawled up over Ellen. Meeting his eyes with hers, he stared into her eyes and smiled, ready to enter the amorous world of love that he had long since missed.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Contains M/F smut.

Still smiling as he drove down the road, Dean happily drummed his fingers on the steering wheel of the Impala. Hearing his phone vibrate, he glanced over to his coat laying on the passenger’s seat. He fumbled around trying to get his hand into the inside jacket pocket, making sure to keep his attention on the road as he felt around. Finally maneuvering his fingers inside the pocket, he pulled out his cell phone to read the text message from Sam.  
“218 Snyder. Nice. Score one to Sam. Let’s hope you can score with Ellen, too.” Dean said, smiling and laughing to himself.  
Right as Dean was about to lock his phone and toss it back onto his jacket, it started to vibrate again. He turned the phone over and read the caller ID. It was Jody.  
Jody Mills is a sheriff in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. An acquaintance of their late friend Bobby Singer, Jody and the brothers have known each other for over five years now. They have worked several cases in the time since then, and Sam and Dean have taken Jody under their wing to teach her the basics of the hunter life. Currently Jody lives with Alex, a former captive of a vampire nest, and Claire, the daughter of Jimmy Novak, Castiel’s vessel.  
Dean tapped the Answer button and put the phone up to his ear.  
“Hey Jody. What’s shaking?” Dean said cheerfully.  
“Not much, still getting to know your friend Castiel. Thanks for the heads up that he was coming, by the way.” Jody said sternly.  
“Huh?” Dean said, tilting his head to the side, confused.  
“Castiel came to ask Claire about her sword yesterday. He just showed up at my door. I had no idea who he was. I mean…I know about him…just not…who he is.” Jody said.  
“Ohhh. You’ve never met Cas before, have you?” Dean said, shaking his head.  
“I have not had the pleasure. Until yesterday.” Jody replied, her tone a lot lighter than earlier.  
“Claire didn’t tell you he was coming?” Dean asked.  
“Are you kidding me? The kid barely speaks at all, let alone to me.” Jody replied.  
“Teenagers. Yeah, I get it.” Dean said, before clearing his throat. “I, uhh, heard about the rave incident.”  
“Yeah, that was fun. Didn’t think angels could get high on ecstasy. Yah learn something new every day.” Jody said, laughing lightly.  
“I would have paid good money to see that.” Dean said, laughing along with Jody.  
“I guess I can check ‘rescue an angel from a rave’ off my Bucket List.” Jody said as a car door slammed shut in the background.  
“Hey, he deserves to relax. Things have been pretty intense with all this crap going on with The Darkness.” Dean said as he changed lanes on the highway.  
“The Darkness? Is that some kind of heavy metal band?” Jody asked as she turned the key in the ignition of her truck, causing it to sputter before roaring to life.  
“If only. Don’t worry, we’re gonna do what we do best. Kill the bad guy. Save the world. The usual.” Dean said as he took the phone away from his ear and hit the Speaker button on the screen.  
“If you need anything, you know I’m here.” Jody said, the soft hum of her engine in the background.  
“Thanks, Jody. Let me know if Cas becomes a handful.” Dean said as he tapped on the navigation app on his phone, putting in Natalie’s address.  
“Awww. Don’t worry, I can handle your boyfriend just fine.” Jody said, over exaggerating a soft and empathetic voice before she started laughing.  
“Bite me, Mills.” Dean said hastily, but smiling slightly.  
“You wish, Winchester.” Jody replied, smiling, before she hung up.  
Dean shook his head and rolled his eyes as he finished putting in Natalie’s address. He tapped the Go button and a woman’s voice began speaking, telling him to take the next exit off the highway.

\---------------

"Don't worry, I'll be careful of your leg." Sam purred into Ellen's ear as he leaned down and began to kiss her neck.  
Ellen closed her eyes, feeling the warm sensation of Sam's breath and lips on her neck. She moaned softly as Sam playfully nibbled on the side of her neck, feeling the gentle abrasiveness of the stubble on his face rub against her. She could tell he was smiling. She reached up and slowly ran her fingers through his hair, feeling how soft it was in comparison to the stubble. Sam sat back, his knees on either side of Ellen's waist, and began to undo the buttons on her shirt. Sam smiled and stared into Ellen's eyes as he undid each button, before sliding his hand underneath Ellen's torso and pulling her shirt off, tossing it to the side of the bed.  
Feeling herself get lost in Sam's multicolored starburst eyes, Ellen smiled as she felt Sam run his fingers over her back before they began to undo the clasp on her bra. Ellen felt the elastic band of her bra go slack as Sam unclasped it. Sam gently lowered Ellen's torso back down on the bed. He traced his pointer finger from Ellen's bottom lip, down her chin, onto her chest, before hooking his finger on Ellen's bra and pulling it down. Ellen moaned softly, feeling the fabric of her bra rub against her already hard and sensitive nipples as Sam removed it, before throwing it in the same direction as her shirt. Sam leaned down again and started gently kissing the same spot on Ellen's neck, before slowly making his way down from her neck to her breasts.  
Sam grasped Ellen's right breast before taking it into his mouth, swirling his tongue around Ellen's nipple. Ellen arched her back and pushed her hips into Sam, feeling how hard he already was through his pants. Sam glided his right hand over Ellen's chest before taking a firm hold of her left breast and twirling his thumb and middle finger over her nipple. Ellen was amazed by how hard she was grinding against Sam, her moaning growing louder and louder as he switched breasts and began to nibble on her left nipple, kneading her right breast with his hand.  
Sam began to kiss back up Ellen's chest, over her breast, up her neck, and back onto her lips. He playfully bit onto Ellen's lower lip before firmly pressing his lips against hers, his tongue dancing around inside Ellen's mouth. Ellen, meeting her tongue with his, felt Sam's right hand begin to slide down her chest and down to the waistband of her skirt. Ellen could feel the familiar tingle of anticipation begin to warm between her legs as Sam swiftly undid the button on her skirt and slid his hand down into her panties. Feeling the cool air seep down, Ellen could feel how wet she already was and ready for Sam's fingers to begin exploring her. Involuntarily spreading her legs a little wider, Ellen felt Sam's warm fingers begin to feel around her wet folds, before one finger rested over her clit. Slowly circling his middle finger over her clit, Sam, still kissing Ellen, began to twirl her left nipple between his fingers before pinching gently. Ellen moaned louder, her moans coming out as a soft growl that she could feel vibrate through her lungs.  
Sam tilted his head back, detaching from Ellen's lips as he removed his hand from her panties. Ellen opened her eyes and whimpered, before seeing Sam lean back and pull down the zipper on her skirt. He wiggled himself backward, still on his knees, as he slid Ellen's skirt down, being careful not to rub it against the wound on her leg. At the edge of the bed, he leaned backward and stood up, reaching down and pulling Ellen's skirt the remaining way off, dropping it to the floor next to him. He looked up at Ellen and undid the buckle on his belt before unbuttoning and unzipping his pants. He rapidly pushed his pants down, refusing to wait for gravity to do the job. Ellen bit her lip, she could see how hard and big Sam was in his boxers as he kicked his pants to the side and resumed his position on top of her, a knee on either side. Kissing her again, Sam squeezed Ellen's left breast before sliding his fingers back down into her panties. Ellen snapped her eyes shut as Sam's fingers explored her again, the intoxicating feeling of desire pooling in the pit of her stomach.  
Sam slipped a finger inside Ellen, causing her to gasp in pleasure. Amazed at how wet she felt and unable to resist, Sam removed his fingers and began to slide off Ellen's panties. Ellen slipped her left leg through the elastic waistband, leaving them wrapped around her right thigh. She slipped her legs out from under Sam, intentionally rubbing her leg against his package to tease him.  
"You're going to pay for that." Sam growled at Ellen before he firmly grabbed her waist and pulled her hips toward him. Leaning back up, Sam kissed Ellen's lips before slowly kissing his way down her chest, over her stomach, and onto her thighs. He lightly traced his fingertips over the inside of Ellen's left thigh as he kissed and suckled on the inside of her right thigh, dangerously close to Ellen's still dripping wet pussy. Ellen grinded her hips side to side, trying to move Sam's lips closer to her spot. Sam rapidly slid his hands under Ellen's butt and firmly placed them on each of her hips. Ellen could feel his large hands push into her skin as she squirmed, unable to move her hips anymore. Sam stopped kissing her thigh and looked up at her, smiling. He slid his right hand out from under her and slowly rubbed his middle finger it up and down the length of Ellen's slit. Ellen grunted and moaned as Sam pressed his finger down more and more with each pass before leaning in and quickly running his tongue up the entire length of Ellen's pussy, tasting her delicious juices as they covered his tongue. Ellen gasped, then moaned as Sam repeated the same motion, curling his tongue at the last second to ensure he passed over her clit.  
Sam began to dance his tongue around Ellen's clit, watching her hips buck wildly and press harder in his mouth with each flick of his tongue. He slid his middle finger back inside her and began moving it in and out as he began to suck on her clit. Ellen moaned louder and louder, overwhelming desire taking over as she found herself unable to control the movement of her hips. She felt another finger side inside her as Sam continued to switch between flicking and sucking on her clit. She grabbed a handful of blankets and pulled, hard, her back arching and hips wildly grinding as she could feel her whole body tingle with pleasure.  
Sam slowly slid his fingers out of Ellen and stopped licking. Ellen exhaled quickly and breathed in deeply, trying to catch her breath. Sam climbed back up onto the bed and kissed Ellen once more, his mouth wet from pleasuring her. Ellen danced her tongue over Sam's lips, tasting his saliva mixing with her juices. Sam turned sideways and fell to his right, next to Ellen, still kissing her. Ellen turned to face him and ran her hand over Sam's well defined chest and down his abdomen, before sliding into his boxers. Ellen firmly took a hold of Sam in her hand as she began to stroke up and down. He was a lot larger than she expected, causing her mind began to wander, but she was snapped back by the overwhelming feeling of warmth and tingling returning between her legs. She slid her hand up and down the length of his shaft, feeling the hum of Sam's deep moaning vibrating her lips as he kissed her even harder. Ellen swirled her fingers around the tip of his cock before sliding her fingers down, tracing a vein on the underside of his shaft. Sam detached his lips and pressed his forehead against Ellen's, heavily breathing and groaning as she moved her thumb over the tip of his cock again.  
"I want you, Sam." Ellen whispered, feeling his warm breath against her face as he continued to moan.  
Sam reached down and pulled Ellen's hand out from his boxers. He lifted himself up and pulled off his boxers before kicking his leg out, sending them flying across the room. He laid on his back and reached into the drawer of the night stand. He removed a condom from the drawer, ripped it open, and slid it over his throbbing manhood. Ellen rolled over and straddled Sam, pressing her breasts flat against his chest. Sam looked up into Ellen's eyes, brushing the hair away from her face. Sam rested his hand on the left side of Ellen's neck and smiled. Raising an eyebrow, he quickly flipped Ellen back over onto her back and positioned himself between her legs. Ellen giggled softly and reached her hands up toward Sam. He intertwined his fingers into hers and pushed her hands back onto the bed. He wiggled his hips up and teased Ellen's opening with the tip of his cock. Ellen rocked her hips toward Sam, causing him to push harder onto her hands, pinning them firmly down.  
Sam moved his hips forward in one swift but quick thrust, entering Ellen. They gasped and moaned in unison as the entire length of Sam's cock slid inside Ellen, both feeling how well it filled her. Ellen arched her back and opened her legs even more as Sam began to slowly thrust in and out, making sure he pulled out to the tip before plunging himself back inside. Ellen wrapped her legs around Sam's waist so he could go even deeper, feeling his weight press down on her hands as she tried to move her arms. Sam released his grip from her left hand as he took a handful of her hair and pulled, leaning down and pressing his body flat against hers as he thrusted faster and deeper inside her. Sam ran his teeth along Ellen's neck and nibbled, sucking gently as he groaned louder each time his hips slammed against hers. Ellen kept up with Sam's erratic rhythm, moving her hips to meet his, practically gasping every time he entered her and stretched her, hitting every sweet spot she had...and some she didn't even know she had. Ellen could feel herself getting closer to climax, the muscles in her core beginning to tighten as her moan turned into a soft yell of pleasure.  
Ellen wrapped her free hand around Sam's torso and onto his back, lifting herself slightly and digging her fingernails in as Sam began to push harder and harder into her. Both panting and sweating with exertion, Sam groaned, feeling that they both were getting close. Ellen grunted and arched her back as her muscles began to contract, squeezing down on Sam's cock that was still rapidly pushing into her. She loudly moaned, the moan blending into a scream, as she squeezed her eyes shut and held onto Sam. Her whole body began to shake and tingle as she climaxed. Sam lowered his head and grunted, feeling Ellen shake beneath him and squeeze down, he thrusted into her a few more times before succumbing to climax himself. Sam let out a loud and guttural groan as he felt his body tense up and release, his cock throbbing as he came.  
Ellen opened her eyes to see Sam positioned over her, hands on either side of her upper torso. Breathing heavily, his hair dangled down into his face, both were slick with sweat. Ellen reached up and brushed the hair away from his face and smiled. Sam smiled back and leaned down, kissing Ellen...his tongue sliding between her lips and exploring once more. Ellen met her tongue with his before Sam detached and slid out of Ellen. She let out a small gasp as she felt him rub against her sweet spot again as he pulled out. Sam smiled and chuckled lightly, his adorable dimples making an appearance as he smiled.  
Ellen sighed heavily and closed her legs as Sam turned around and sat on the edge of the bed momentarily before getting up, pausing a moment to regain muscle control in his legs.  
"I needed that." Ellen said as she sat up on her elbows, still smiling at how hard she came.  
"Me too." Sam said as he practically stumbled over to the bathroom and flipped the light on.  
He turned around and faced Ellen.  
"Be right back." He said with a wink before he closed the door to the bathroom.  
Ellen nodded and pulled the blanket over her body, allowing herself to flop back down on the bed. She closed her eyes, replaying what just happened in her mind before being snapped back to the present by a loud buzzing coming from the table. It was Sam's cell phone.  
"Sam, your phone's vibrating." Ellen said.  
Sam emerged from the bathroom, a towel wrapped around his waist, and he walked over to the table. He picked up his phone and looked at the screen.  
"It's Dean." He said to Ellen before tapping the Answer button.  
"Hey Dean, how'd it go?" Sam asked, secretly hoping his brother wouldn't make a big deal out of him and Ellen.  
"It didn't. Address is bogus. You sure you got the right one?" Dean replied, a hint of annoyance in his voice.  
"I'm sure. Only one listed. I followed the paper trail." Sam replied.  
"The trail from foster care, to the women's shelter, then to the Doc?" Dean asked.  
"Yes, Dean. I know how to do my job." Sam snapped back.  
"I know that, Sammy. You were...distracted, though. Gotta make sure." Dean said with a chuckle.  
"You on your way back?" Sam replied as he walked over to the TV and removed his boxers from the top of it. He turned around, showed them to Ellen, and smiled. Ellen nodded and giggled.  
"Maybe. You finished getting your love injection from the good Doc yet?" Dean asked.  
"See you when you get here." Sam replied, ignoring Dean's comment.  
"Come on Sam, did you open yourself up and talk about your feelings? Or did she have an illness that can only be cured by some di-" Dean replied, before being cut off by Sam.  
"Goodbye Dean." Sam said sternly before hitting the End button on his phone and sliding it back onto the table.  
Ellen raised an eyebrow at Sam as he pulled off his towel and stepped into his boxers, pulling them up to his waist.  
"Dean's on his way back. He'll be here in about 30." Sam said smiling at Ellen again as he grabbed a pair of jeans from his bag, slid his leg inside, and began putting them on.  
"I'll get cleaned up. Need to put a bandage on this cut anyways." Ellen replied as she flung the blanket off, swung her legs around over the edge of the bed, and stood up. Her panties that were still around her right leg fell to the floor. She bent over and put her left leg back through and pulled them up. Shifting her weight off her injured leg, she limped a few steps toward the bathroom before Sam came over and grabbed her arm, helping her walk.  
At the doorway to the bathroom, Ellen spun around and kissed Sam. She could still taste herself as her tongue moved across his lips. Sam grabbed a firm handful of Ellen's ass and squeezed as she stopped kissing him.  
"Ooooh!" Ellen yelped, then giggled, before playfully pushing on Sam's chest. "Knock it off."  
"Mmhmm." Sam replied as he took a few steps back and laughed.  
Ellen smiled and turned around, stepping through the doorway to the bathroom, shutting the door behind her.  
Sam walked toward his bed and pulled a shirt out of his bag, finding himself unable to stop smiling.


	18. Chapter 18

Sam had just finished helping Ellen wrap a bandage on her leg as he heard the soft rumble of the Impala's engine grow louder. The bright glow of the headlights shined through the motel window, lighting up the entire room before Dean turned the key back in the ignition and turned the car off.  
Hearing a car door open and close, Sam stood up from squatting next to Ellen, who was sitting at the bottom edge of his bed. He handed her a roll of medial tape, allowing his fingers to gently and slowly brush against the back of her hand. Ellen looked up at him and smiled, she could feel her face become warm as she blushed.  
Ellen looked down, focusing on taping the rest of the bandage across her wound, pausing a moment to admire how uniform and neat the stitches were.  
Sam opened the door to the motel for Dean before he had a chance to use his key. Dean took a half step backward, slightly startled by the door in front of him flying open.  
"I brought food." Dean said as he wiggled the paper bag in his right hand, trying to balance a tray with three cups on it in his left.  
Dean stepped inside, Sam closing the door behind him. He placed the bag and tray on the table and leaned to his left, studying the disheveled appearance of Sam's bed. He turned around and smiled at Sam, raising his right hand for a high five.  
Sam glared at his brother, crossing his arms across his chest.  
"Come on, don't leave me hanging." Dean whispered impatiently.  
Before Sam could respond, Ellen was behind Dean. She quickly slapped her right hand onto his hand and laughed lightly.  
Dean spun around and flashed a cheeky smile at her before turning back to Sam and raising his eyebrows.  
Sam smiled, his dimples showing again, as he looked down and ran his fingers through his hair. Breaking the moment, he pulled a soda from the tray and took a big gulp through the straw before he began to dig through the bag.  
"I didn't know what you wanted, so I got an extra burger and salad." Dean said, motioning to Ellen at the bag of food on the table.  
"Sam will eat the salad if you want the burger, I'll eat the burger if you want the salad." Dean continued.  
"Burger for me. Is there bacon on it?" Ellen replied as she limped her way over to the mini-fridge and bent over, removing a beer from inside.  
"Of course." Dean replied. "Grab me one, too?"  
Ellen nodded and pulled another beer from the fridge before closing it.  
She turned around to start walking back to the table as Sam started walking toward her, his arm extended.  
"I'm good.’Tis only a flesh wound." Ellen replied in a very bad British accent, waving her free hand at Sam and smiling.  
Sam smiled and nodded, cautiously watching Ellen as she made her way across the motel room and back into the same chair she was sitting in earlier. She handed Dean one of the beers as he slid an aluminum foil wrapped burger at her.  
Sam hit Dean's arm, causing Dean to look up at him, his mouth already full with a large bite of his burger. Sam nodded toward Ellen and mouthed "Natalie". Dean swallowed, sighed and nodded his head.   
"So, Ellen. How well do you know Natalie? I know you have history, but have you spent time with her outside work?" Dean asked before taking a sip of his beer.  
"Why do you want to know?" Ellen finished chewing the bite of her burger and looked up at Dean, tilting her head to the side.  
"Well, Natalie had a hidden angel blade in her desk and the address we found for her is bogus. Besides you, she is the only other common denominator for the killings." Dean explained.  
"You've been investigating Natalie? Why didn't you tell me?" Ellen raised her voice slightly, making eye contact with Sam. Sam averted his eyes and sat down in the chair on the table edge between Dean and Ellen.  
"Honestly, we didn't suspect her until you said you hadn't seen an angel blade before. We get that she went through some crap, but something just seems off. I went to the address we found for her, and it's bogus." Dean said before taking another sizable bite of his burger.  
"What address?" Ellen asked.  
"218 Snyder Ave. It's the only one we found." Sam chimed in, popping the top off the container his salad was in.  
"Natalie hasn't lived there in years. She lives in the apartment above J&M’s on Partridge Road." Ellen said, mumbling slightly as she continued to chew the bite of burger in her mouth.  
"J&M’s?" Sam asked.  
"John and Marie's Music Store Galore, we call it J&M’s. They sell old records, CD's, instruments...so on. They also fixed my guitar for me when I dropped it and cracked the wood." Ellen said before sipping her beer.  
"Alright, we'll head there tomorrow. You need some rest." Sam said, pointing his salad-clad fork at Ellen before he took a bite.  
"I'll give you my address if you want to drop me off." Ellen said.  
"You're not going anywhere. You're staying with us." Sam replied.  
"She is?" Dean said.  
"I am?" Ellen said at the same time as Dean.  
"Someone tried to kill you today, Ellen. Until we figure out who and why and take care of the problem, you're safer with us. We don't know if they can track you and if they know where you live, it's not safe for you to go home." Sam said, his tone soft and empathetic.  
"Where am I going to sleep?" Ellen asked, looking around the motel room.  
"I got first shift. I'm still wired. I'm gonna dig into the lore to find out what we’re up against." Dean said as he crumpled up the grease stained piece of foil that once held his burger.  
"You can crash on my bed. Try not to bleed on it. I mean....unless you want to sleep with Sam and actually sleep this time." Dean said with a cheeky smile.  
Ellen laughed and blushed as Sam shot an annoyed glare at him. Dean shrugged in response, still smiling, and got up from his chair before shuffling over to the bathroom and closing the door behind him.  
"I'm sorry for him." Sam said with a heavy sigh.  
"Don't be, Sam. Dean is....Dean. He's just jealous." Ellen smirked as she crumpled up her burger wrapper and tossed it into the trash container next to the dresser. She downed the remaining liquid of her beer and stood up out of her chair. Sam flinched, instinctively reaching for her as she steadied herself, before retracting his hands and nodding.  
"Here. I'm sure your outfit isn't very comfortable. When Dean's done in the bathroom, you can change into this if you want." Sam said as he got up and walked over to his duffel bag. He removed a clean and rolled t-shirt and pair of boxers and handed them to Ellen.  
"Yeah, the average business professional outfit is no good as pajamas, as I'm sure you know with your Fed-threads. Thanks, Sam." Ellen took the shirt and boxers from Sam; her mind momentarily drifting back to the romp she just had with him.   
She smiled and flung the boxers onto the TV, causing both of them to start giggling. The door to the bathroom swung open, Dean emerging, as Ellen pulled the boxers off the TV and shuffled past him into the bathroom. Dean looked up at Sam, who was still smiling and laughing lightly, and raised an eyebrow.  
"What's so funny?" Dean asked as he made his way back to the table and sat down, pulling Sam's laptop closer to him and flipping it open.  
"Life imitating art." Sam said as he looked over at Dean, who shot him a confused look.  
"Nevermind." Sam said, shaking his head.  
"Anyways...do you think Natalie is our big bad? Ellen did say the person that attacked her was chubby." Dean asked as he started clicking on the laptop.  
"Maybe...but we won't know until we find her and ask her ourselves. If she is, we need to figure out WHAT she is." Sam replied as he sat down on the edge of his bed.  
"And Dean..."  
"Yeah?"  
"You know the rules with my laptop."  
"Yeah, yeah. No porn and no food. I got it, Mr. Clean." Dean replied, lazily waving his hand at Sam.  
Ellen opened the door to the bathroom and limped out, wearing Sam's shirt and boxers. The shirt was very long, almost covering the length of the boxers. Sam looked up at her and couldn't help but smile at how beautiful she looked as she sat down on the edge of Dean's bed.  
"I put some extra bandages on the cut, so it shouldn't bleed through." Ellen said as she swung her legs under the covers and laid back, sighing heavily as her head sunk into the pillow.  
“Thanks. Sleep well, doc.” Dean said, his attention mainly focused on the laptop screen.  
“Goodnight, boys.” Ellen murmured as she closed her eyes, feeling every muscle in her body relax and her mind become clear, except for a few select explicit memories of Sam.  
"Gimme four." Sam said as he pushed himself up and slid back toward the top of his bed.  
"You got it, loverboy." Dean said, smiling at Sam.  
Sam groaned in annoyance as he lifted up the covers and slid under them, heavily slamming his head onto his pillow.  
Dean's eyes shifted toward the bottom right of the computer screen. The clock changed from 11:16pm to 11:17pm as he stared at it. He rubbed his eyes with the back of his hands before he continued typing, determined to figure out who or what Natalie might be.


	19. Chapter 19

"Ellen...."  
"Ellen, wake up." Sam placed his hand on Ellen's left shoulder. She was on her side bundled up in the blankets on Sam's bed. Her eyes shot open then blinked rapidly as Sam gently shook her.  
"Wha-" Ellen muttered, sluggishly rubbing her eyes with her hands.  
She looked around, disoriented, noticing she had somehow moved from Dean's bed to Sam's. Noticing her confusion, Sam smiled and sat down next to her on the bed.  
"When it was my turn to keep watch, Dean didn't want to sleep in my bed....for...obvious reasons." Sam cautiously slid his hand under the blanket and began to lightly brush his fingers along the outside of Ellen's upper thigh. "So, I moved you into my bed."  
Ellen reached her hand down under the covers, placing it over Sam's. She smiled and interlaced her fingers between his.  
"Go ahead and get dressed, I'll wake Dean." Sam said, removing his hand and standing up.  
Ellen nodded and stretched her arms up, involuntarily letting out a rather loud but raspy squeak as she yawned.  
Dean sat up and jolted to life before Sam had a chance to wake him, his pistol waving wildly in his hand.  
"Whoa, Dean! Relax!" Sam yelled with both hands up in surrender, startled at his brother's sudden movement. Dean sighed and grunted, dropping his pistol onto his bed and slamming his face back into his pillow.  
"Get up, dude. We gotta go. It's already 8:15. I got you breakfast." Sam said as he slapped Dean's right foot that was hanging over the edge of the bed.  
Ellen threw off the covers, slowly stood up, and limped her way over to the bathroom. Her skirt and shirt were neatly folded and placed on the small side table in the corner of the bathroom in front of the toilet. She smiled, knowing that had to have been done by Sam. She closed the door behind her and slipped off Sam's boxers, ready to get dressed into her torn clothing again.  
Dean rolled to his side and lazily sat up, practically dislocating his jaw with how wide he yawned. He stood up and walked over to the table, his eyes still half closed. He pulled one of the coffee cups from the tray on the table and took several sips, smacking his lips together after each sip.  
"Mmm." Dean moaned, sighing heavily, while absently scratching at his now-substantial beard.  
"You're still not going to shave that thing, are you?" Sam asked, also pulling a cup from the tray and taking a sip.  
"Not unless you get a haircut. You know my term, Sammy." Dean replied before digging around in the paper bag sitting on the table next to the tray.  
"Unless a monster does it for me, not gonna happen, Dean. You look ridiculous. At least brush it, dude." Sam said, motioning to the tangled mess of hair that was Dean's beard.  
"I think it suits him. Rustic and out of control. It makes you look like a young Chuck Norris." Ellen said as she opened the door and emerged from the bathroom, Sam's shirt and boxers in her left hand. She limped toward the table, pausing a moment to throw the shirt and boxers on Sam's bed.  
"Don't encourage him." Sam said, pulling the last coffee from the tray and handing it to Ellen.  
Ellen smiled and took a sip of the coffee. It was stronger than she expected, causing her to groan slightly and raise her eyebrows.  
"Hunter's coffee. It can wake the dead." Sam handed her a foil wrapped sandwich. "Bacon, egg, and cheese. Is that okay?"  
"You had me at bacon." Ellen took the sandwich from him and smiled again. She limped a few more steps and sat down at the table before unwrapping the sandwich.  
The next half an hour seemed to blink by. Dean and Sam had both taken very quick showers and got dressed in their suits. Ellen was stationary at the table the entire time, casually flipping through the lore book Sam had given her whilst she finished her coffee and sandwich.  
"Ready to go?" Sam said, breaking the silence in the motel room.  
Ellen nodded and stood up, steadying herself on the table before removing her suit jacket off the back of the chair and sliding it on.  
All three left the motel room, climbed into the Impala, and departed less than a minute later.  
"Can we stop at my office so I can grab some clothes? I don’t really want to walk in public like this." Ellen said from the backseat, looking down at her torn and blood stained outfit.  
"You're not coming inside. Me and Sam are going to handle it." Dean said, narrowing his eyes at Ellen in the rear-view mirror.  
"What? Why?" Ellen said, staring back at Dean in the mirror.  
"You're too close to this. If it comes down to it and Natalie our doer, do you really want to watch us gank her?" Dean said.  
"Dude, come on." Sam groaned.  
Ellen crossed her arms and stared out the window, tuning out the argument that had erupted between the brothers. A few minutes later, Dean reluctantly agreed after a short and heated debate with Sam.  
After a short stop at Ellen's office so she could change into the spare business outfit she kept in her office closet, they were all back on the road heading toward Natalie's apartment.  
Located in a more rural part of Tulsa, Natalie's apartment sat directly above John & Marie's Music Store Galore, just had Ellen said. The bright red neon sign that said "REPAIRS" in the window of the store flickered as Dean glided the Impala to a stop on the opposite side of the street from the store.  
"You have to go through the store to get to the apartment." Ellen said as she opened her door and stepped outside.  
Dean and Sam opened their doors in unison and also stepped out, both brothers carefully studying the building in front of them.  
"Let us do the talking. You're a new intern which is why you don't have a badge yet." Dean grumbled through a clenched jaw, still obviously reluctant about bringing Ellen.  
"Actually...I do have a badge." Ellen said, pulling a FBI badge out of the jacket pocket and showing it to Dean and Sam.  
Sam raised an eyebrow and took it from her. Both brothers studied the badge carefully, flipping it open and closed and running their fingers along the stitching.  
"Not bad, looks legit." Sam said, folding the badge closed and passing it back to Ellen.  
"Birthday present from a hunter named Garth. Nice guy, loves hugging." Ellen replied cheerfully, sliding the badge back into her pocket.  
Sam and Dean exchanged wide-eyed glances before smiling.  
"I take it you know him?" Ellen replied, seeing them exchange looks.  
"Yeah, we do. We've worked with him a few times." Sam replied.  
“He’s a sweet guy. And….by the way…I won’t need the badge. Both John and Marie know me and know Natalie works for me.” Ellen said, shrugging.  
“Right.” Sam nodded before looking at Dean. “We’re going to have to be Agent Smith’s again. They own a music store, they’ll see right through Van Zant and Rossington.”  
“Yup. You ready?” Dean said, looking at Ellen.  
"Let's ramble on, boys." Ellen said as she strode past both brothers and across the street, flashing a cheeky smile at Dean.  
Sam nudged Dean's shoulder with his and smiled as they walked across the street to catch up with Ellen.  
"Get out of my head, woman." Dean grumbled quietly.  
Ellen opened the glass door in the front of the store, holding it open so Sam and Dean could enter first.  
The store was a little bit bigger than the size of the bunker's library, and just as orderly. Records, CD's, magazines, and other music paraphernalia were spread all over the store, neatly packed and organized into over a dozen separate bins throughout the area. There were posters of various 70's and 80's rock stars all over the walls, some signed and framed. Dean stopped a few feet inside the store and took a deep breath in.  
"Ahhh. Smell that? The musty cardboard aroma of records. Pure heaven." Dean said, a smile creeping across his face.  
He made his way through the rows of records on the shop floor, stopping and turning when he spotted the familiar white brick pattern of a Pink Floyd album. He reached his hand out and slid the plastic covered album out from the stack it was in and gazed at it, running his fingers along the cover. It was in almost pristine condition.  
"Come on, Dean. Focus." Sam hissed at his brother, trying to redirect his attention.  
Dean sighed and slid the album back into the spot he pulled it from, the smile vanishing from his face. He turned and continued walking down the aisle toward the counter at the back of the store. The three of them turned to the left after the last bin of CD's, stopping at the glass counter in the corner. A large black curtain covered a doorway to their right. Sam shifted back and forth, peering through the curtain, spotting a set of stairs straight back on the far wall.  
"Can I help you?" A voice spoke from the back room behind the counter. Moments later, a man appeared, wiping his grease covered hands on an old rag. He appeared to be in his mid-sixties, tall and slender, with short silver hair and a salt and pepper beard covering his face.  
Sam and Dean both reached into their jackets and pulled out their badges, showing them to the man behind the counter.  
"Agents Smith and Smith, no relation." Dean said, pointing at himself, then to his brother. "And you already know Dr. Barnes."  
"Agents. Doc." The man nodded at both Sam and Dean before looking at Ellen. "How's the guitar?"  
"Beatle is fine, John. Thanks for fixing her up." Ellen said with a soft smile.  
“You named your guitar ‘Beatle’?” Dean grumbled at Ellen.  
“Yeah, sue me.” Ellen snapped back at him.  
"It’s a free country, son. I’m glad to hear she’s all good. Now what does the FBI want with a mom-and-pop music store?" John said, still wiping the grease from his hands.  
"Have you seen Natalie recently, John?" Sam asked, pulling his notepad and a pen out of his jacket pocket.  
"I saw her yesterday, late afternoon. Not sure what time, but it was before we closed...so had to have been before five." John said, dropping the rag on the counter and sitting down in the stool behind him.  
"Did you speak to her at all?" Sam asked.  
"No, she practically ran past me and into the back, she lives upstairs in apartment one." John paused for a moment before standing up. "What's going on? Why are you asking about Natalie?"  
"Someone broke into my office and attacked me...and now she's missing. We want to make sure she's okay, John." Ellen said, stepping forward between Sam and Dean, placing her hand on the counter.  
John's eyes went wide as he quickly spun around and grabbed a set of keys off a hook next to the light switch on the back wall. He made his way around the counter and sprinted through the curtain. Once he was a good distance ahead, Ellen turned and walked through the curtain, Sam and Dean behind her.  
"John and Marie pretty much adopted Natalie. They know her background and how hard her life has been, so they've been keeping an eye on her ever since she moved in." Ellen whispered as they walked.  
Dean nodded and started up the stairs first, followed by Sam, then Ellen. John was already at the top of the stairs waiting for them. The walkway wrapped around in a U-shape, leading to two doors. The first door, marked with the number one, was in the middle of the wall to their right...the other door was at the end of the walkway, marked with a number two. John walked a few steps to the first door, fumbling around with the keys in his hand. A few seconds later, he held a single key in his fingers and reached down, inserting it into the lock.  
"John..." Dean whispered as he slid his pistol out from the back of his waistband and pointed it at the ground.  
Dean flicked his wrist and gun at John, motioning for him to step back, the key still unturned the lock. John nodded and complied, stepping back a few feet. Sam stepped forward, sliding past Dean, positioning himself on the left side of the door frame, opposite his brother. He also pulled his pistol from his waistband and nodded.  
Sam switched his pistol from his right to his left hand and slowly turned the key inside the lock with his free hand.  
With a muffled click, the lock disengaged. Sam looked at Dean and began to whisper a countdown. A beat after he reached one, Sam turned the doorknob and firmly pushed the door open. Dean entered first, his gun raised, sweeping left to right as he stepped inside. Sam entered shortly after, his gun lowered until Dean was no longer in front of him. Dean began walking to the left toward the bedroom as Sam stepped forward into the living area, both of them making no noise as they made their way around the apartment.  
Dean was halfway into the bedroom when he heard Sam's voice come from the living area.  
"Dean."  
Dean emerged from the bedroom to meet his brother, who was standing next to the worn out couch in the middle of the room. Sam sighed as he slid his pistol back into his waistband.  
Dean came around the left side of the couch before being greeted by a familiar iron smell he knew all too well.  
"Son of a bitch." Dean said, sliding his pistol into his waistband and letting out a heavy sigh.  
Sam and Dean exchanged looks before they looked down at the floor. Natalie's body was slumped over on her right side in front of the couch, covered in blood from the three large stab wounds that were evident on her torso. A large pool of blood was spread across the dirty white carpet in front of her.


	20. Chapter 20

Ellen rushed inside the room, John close behind her. She stopped dead in her tracks and froze as she saw the pool of blood that was spread across the dirty white carpet in the living room.  
"Natalie!" Ellen screamed, her knees almost buckling as she saw the pool of blood on the carpet.  
John started walking toward where Natalie's body was, tears welling up in his eyes. Dean turned and placed a firm hand on his chest, stopping him as he approached the edge of the couch.  
"You don't want to see this." Dean said, moving his body into John's line of sight of Natalie's body.  
"Who...how..." John stuttered, tears starting to fall from his eyes.  
"We're going to figure that out." Sam said, shooting a glance at Ellen. He looked at John and nudged his head, motioning for her to get John out of the apartment.  
Ellen nodded, tears streaming down her face and put her left hand around John's shoulder.  
"Come on, John. I'll put some tea on for you while we let the agents work." Ellen said, lightly squeezing her arm around John as she led him back out the doorway and down the hall to the other apartment.  
Once Sam heard the door open and close down the hallway, he took an EMF meter out of his pocket, extended the antenna, and turned it on. None of the lights lit up as he slowly waved the device around in various parts of the apartment, including directly next to Natalie's body.  
"No EMF." Sam said as he pushed the antenna down and slipped it back into his pocket.  
"Yeah, I think we've established it's not something that gives off EMF." Dean said as he crouched down next to Natalie's body and looked at the stab wounds through the tears in her shirt. He squinted his eyes and got a few inches closer. He took out a rubber glove from his inside jacket pocket and put it on his right hand.  
"Sam, give me your pen." Dean asked, gloved hand extended, not taking his eyes off one of the wounds in the middle of Natalie's chest.  
Sam slid his pen out from his pocket and placed it into Dean's hand. Dean slowly slid the length of the pen into the stab wound, stopping about an inch before the end.  
"Dude!" Sam said, gesturing to his pen that was currently sticking out of Natalie's chest.  
"Shhh. Look." Dean said, pointing at the angle of the pen. He pulled the pen back out, then slid it into another stab wound that was close by. The pen settled into the same upward trajectory in both wounds.  
Dean lifted up Natalie's sleeve between his fingers and began to study her left hand. A few moments later, he set her sleeved hand back down, draping it back over her side, and lifted up her right hand to look at it.  
"Check it out, Sammy." Dean said, pointing at small but deep cuts along Natalie's pointer finger and thumb. Her hand was covered in blood, causing Sam to have to lean in very close in order to make out the cuts through the blood. Once he noticed them, his eyes shifted to Natalie's wrist. He squinted at one of the burns on her wrist and pulled out his cell phone, snapping a picture. He remembered feeling that something was off with that burn when he saw it for the first time while in Ellen's office.  
"Upward wound path...small cuts on her hand...those stab wounds are self-inflicted. Her hand slipped while she was stabbing, causing the cuts." Dean said, placing Natalie's right hand back to where it was, stretched out in front of her.  
"She killed herself? Why?" Sam asked, crossing his arms over his chest.  
"Maybe she knew we were getting close? Killed herself to avoid being taken and interrogated?" Dean said, shrugging. He dropped on his hands and knees and began to look around on the floor near Natalie's body.   
"Found it." Dean said less than thirty seconds later as he carefully slid something out from under the couch.  
He shifted back onto his knees before standing up with a large knife in his hand. The knife was about seven inches long with a wooden handle, both of which were soaked in blood. Dean studied the knife before showing it to Sam.  
"Looks like a silver blade." Sam said.  
"Yeah, seems like it. So whatever Natalie is...er was...can be killed by silver. That should narrow down the lore so we can figure out what she is." Dean replied before squatting back down and carefully placing the knife back where he found it. He pulled Sam's pen out of the stab wound and held it in his fist as he pulled his glove off.  
Both brothers walked to the door in silent agreement, knowing what they needed to do next. Dean knocked on the door of the other apartment, greeted by Ellen a few moments later. She opened the door, allowing the bothers to come inside.   
This apartment was almost double the size of Natalie's. John was sitting at a wooden kitchen table to the right of the doorway, his head buried in his hands, a half full teacup on the table in front of him. There was a large flat screen TV to their left next to a pristine leather couch, as well as dozens of music themed posters and artwork throughout the room. Sam pulled Ellen to the side as Dean walked over and sat down at the table next to John.  
"What's going on Sam? What happened?" Ellen asked quietly.  
"She killed herself. Stab wounds were upward and she had cuts on her hands. We don't know why." Sam whispered back at her.  
"Oh, God. Natalie...." Ellen whimpered, tears beginning to well in her eyes again.   
John lifted his head as Dean sat down, having to blink several times to see Dean clearly through the tears in his eyes.  
"John, we have no jurisdiction to investigate, so you're going to have to call the local police. We were here as a favor for Ellen." Dean said as he handed John a tissue from a box on the other side of the table.  
John nodded as he plucked the tissue from Dean's hand and blotted it on his cheeks.  
"When they get here, you can't tell them we were here. Crime scene would be considered contaminated and it will cause issues while they look for her killer. Understand?" Dean said, coldly staring directly into John's eyes.  
"Okay. What do I tell them?" John asked before clearing his throat.  
"Say that you were concerned. Natalie didn't show up for work and you hadn't seen her since yesterday afternoon when she came home. You knocked, and when she didn't answer, you went in and found her body." Dean said.  
"Th-thank you." John replied with a nod.  
Ellen and Sam joined Dean, standing next to him at the table.  
"I'll call you later, okay John? Where is Marie?" Ellen asked.  
"Groceries." John sighed heavily. "This is going to destroy her."  
"You two have been through a lot. I know how strong you are. I'm always a phone call away if you need me. Keep in touch." Ellen said as she reached over and squeezed John's hand.  
“Thank you, Dr. Barnes.” John smiled and placed his other hand over Ellen's squeezing back.  
“Wait ten minutes and then call 9-1-1. Say you’re a landlord and you just found your tenant dead in her apartment. When the police get here and question you, just tell them exactly what we went over, okay?” Dean said, speaking slower than normal to make sure John understood.  
“Got it. Thank you.” John said before exhaling sharply trying to calm himself.  
Dean lightly patted the table twice with his right hand and smiled before standing up.  
Ellen waved at John as she made her way to the door, Sam and Dean in front of her. All three of them exited and made their way down the stairs and back out to the store.  
“Natalie killed herself with a silver blade, so that narrows down what she can be.” Dean said to Ellen as they walked through the store.  
Ellen stopped walking, a confused look on her face. She was already a considerable amount of distance behind them due to her injury and the stairs, so Sam and Dean turned around in unison once they realized Ellen had stopped.  
“Wait. What do you mean by ‘what’?” Ellen said.  
“We’ll explain in the car. We need to leave.” Dean said, holding the front door of the store open, motioning for Ellen to follow. Sam was already halfway across the street.  
Ellen groaned and hurried out the door, limping after Sam and Dean on her way to the Impala.  
Right after Ellen shut the rear passenger door, she leaned up and dangled her arms over the front seat between Sam and Dean.  
"Alright, spill. What's going on?" She said while looking back and forth between the brothers, a tinge of annoyance in her face.  
Dean sighed and started the engine before pulling away from his spot on the side of the road.  
"We think Natalie is some type of monster. She attacked you in your office, and she's the one that's been killing your patients." Sam spoke up after a few moments of awkward silence passed.  
"You- What?! Why?" Ellen snapped, her voice several octaves higher than it was before.  
"Like we mentioned before, she was the common denominator. We don't know why and probably never will...but we're going to figure out what she is." Dean added, revving the engine as he merged onto the highway, headed back to the motel.  
Ellen slumped back with a soft thud as her back hit the seat. She shifted herself over behind Sam, and stared out the window, watching the blur of cars and trees pass.  
"Are you sure it's her? How could she do this? She was more than my employee...she was a friend." Ellen muttered to herself, tears welling up in her eyes.  
"We don't know for sure...but think about it. She got close to the patients, used her position in your office to gain information. You said the person that attacked you was chubby. She had a secret angel blade hidden in her desk. She killed herself when she thought we were getting close." Dean said, putting up a finger on his right hand each time listed something.  
Ellen sighed heavily and crossed her arms over her chest, a single tear falling down her cheek.  
"Hearing it listed out like that doesn't make the betrayal hurt any less." Ellen grumbled back at Dean, her hands dropping to her lap. As she was intensely picking at the cuticle on one of her fingers, she noticed something moving to her right side toward the floor.  
She shifted in her seat slightly and looked down to see Sam's right hand; his long arm easily able to contort and reach back between the door and the front seat.  
Sam pulled his fingers back a few times in a 'come here' gesture, his hand resting halfway up the height of the front seat. Ellen smiled, wiped a tear away, and reached down to meet his hand. Sam wrapped his long fingers around Ellen's hand and lightly squeezed it a few times before gently brushing his thumb over the back of her hand.  
Ellen closed her eyes and tilted her head back, comforted by the familiar warmth of Sam's surprisingly soft hands. She didn't let go the entire ride back to the motel, and Sam's grip never loosened.  
As Dean gracefully pulled into an empty parking spot right outside their motel room door, Ellen finally released Sam's hand, feeling the cool air hit the moisture that had formed on her palm.  
"Sorry." She whispered with a light chuckle, leaning in close to Sam's ear as she wiped her palm on her dress pants.  
Sam chuckled back at her and wiped his palm on his pant leg as well.  
"Nothing to be sorry for." Sam whispered back at her as he opened his door and stepped outside.  
Ellen smiled, she could feel her cheeks becoming flush with warmth as she blushed. She opened her car door and limped after Sam, who was already in front of their motel room as Dean opened the door and disappeared inside.  
Sam held the door open for Ellen and closed it behind her, making sure the deadbolt was securely in place. Ellen sat down and sighed, before looking at Dean and Sam as they slid off their dress jackets and shoes in front of their respective beds.  
"I want to help you figure out what Natalie was. If she tricked me into thinking she was my friend, I want to make sure it doesn't happen again. We were close, so I know a lot of information about her past that can help." Ellen said as she sat down in her chair at the table.  
Sam and Dean exchanged looks before nodding at each other a few seconds later.  
"Awesome. We could use the help, doc." Dean said, rolling up the sleeves on his dress shirt as he made his way to the table and sat down across from Ellen.  
Right after Dean flipped open the laptop, his stomach released a very loud but low grumble. It was already a little after one in the afternoon, and they hadn’t eaten anything since this morning. He opened his mouth to say something, when Sam cut him off.  
"Food. Got it. I'll make a run. I'm texting you a pic, Dean. Can you figure out if it means anything?" Sam said as he sent the picture of Natalie's wrist to Dean. "You need anything, Ellen?" He asked, slipping his suit jacket back on.  
"Some clean bandages, maybe?" Ellen pointed at the gauze taped to her leg, the crimson color of blood beginning to seep through.  
"You got it." Sam said, winking at Ellen.  
Dean nodded, rolled his eyes, and threw the keys to the Impala in the air at Sam, who caught them swiftly with one hand. He opened the door to the motel and left, making sure the door didn't slam behind him.  
"Don't forget the pie, again!" Dean yelled as the door closed.  
"Yeah, yeah." Sam grumbled back at him, muffled by the closed door.  
Ellen found herself watching Sam as he made his way to the Impala, got inside, and backed out of the parking spot; the grumble of the engine fading as he drove away. She smirked slightly as her eyes shifted back to Dean, who was currently staring at her.  
"I can give you one of Sammy's old fake ID's if you want to keep staring at him while he's gone." Dean said with a smirk, raising his eyebrow.  
"Shut up, Dean." Ellen said hastily, before cracking a smile.  
Dean shook his head and began typing on the laptop as Ellen opened the lore book and began reading, both still smiling.


	21. Chapter 21

Five minutes had passed and Sam was still sitting in the parking lot of the burger place they had frequented the last few days; a large red sign in window read "CLOSED DUE TO BURST PIPE. SORRY FOR THE INCONVENIENCE."  
He tapped a few times on his phone before finding another chain fast food place about seven miles north of where he was. After tapping "navigate", Sam started the Impala and backed out of the parking spot as a female computer voice told him to take a left at the road.  
Sam had only been driving the quiet stretch of road for a few minutes before his mind started to wander. He was thinking about Ellen, about how this case doesn't feel right, and about the mysterious mark on Natalie's wrist that had piqued his interest.  
Shocked back to reality by the horrible sound of the Impala stuttering and squeaking, Sam shifted his eyes down at the gauges on the dashboard. The needle on the gas gauge was flat against the pin next to the E and the orange light in the shape of a gas can illuminated to the left of it.  
Sam sighed and exhaled sharply as he navigated the car off to the right side of the road and switched into park. He turned the engine off and removed the keys before opening his door and stepping out. He made his way to the back of the Impala and unlocked the trunk before lifting up the floor cover and removing a small red gas can. He shut the trunk and reached into his pocket for his cell phone, wanting to call Dean to let him know he ran out of gas, knowing full well Dean would chew him a new one for letting it happen.  
As Sam was focused on his cell phone, about to press "Call" next to Dean's name, a tall dark figure appeared at the tree line of the woods next to him. It swiftly darted at Sam, striking him across the back of the head with a long metal object. Sam grunted and fell forward onto his knees on the pavement, his cell phone flying from his hand and sliding a few feet away as he tried to brace his fall.  
Wincing at the scrapes along his hands and the sharp throbbing pain coming from the back of his head, Sam pivoted on his knees and spun around. Ignoring the white and dark splotches clouding his eyes, he was ready to defend himself.  
When he turned around, he was face to face with a glowing orange hand inches from him...then, nothing.

\------------------------

"How long does it take to go through the drive-thru?" Dean grumbled at the same time as his stomach spoke up with a grumble as well.  
"He had to stop for bandages, too, Dean. Don't you guys carry snacks with you?" Ellen replied, her eyes not moving from the lore book in front of her.  
"All of the snacks are in the car." Dean groaned and sighed.  
"Vending machine?" Ellen asked, briefly looking up at Dean before shifting her attention back to the book.  
A smile creeped across Dean's face as he shot up out of his chair, pulled his wallet out of his back pocket, and marched toward the door.  
"Wait! Check this out." Ellen said, stopping Dean mid-stride. He groaned and leaned over her shoulder, looking at the page she had her finger on in the lore book.  
"Poena?" Dean asked, reading the name at the top of the page.  
"Yeah. She was the spirit of punishment for the Greek goddess of divine retribution, Nemesis. It says here that when commanded, Poena would appear and smite those who were unworthy of living." Ellen said, reading from one of the large paragraphs of text on the page.  
"Right. So, what makes you think we're dealing with the holy hand grenade of a Greek goddess?" Dean asked impatiently.  
"When punishing those who were deemed unworthy, Poena would touch them with her hand...burning them with the fire of divine wrath." Ellen continued reading.  
"Fire from her hand? Well...that certainly sounds like something. A breakthrough means we deserve a snack. I'll be right back." He said to Ellen as he opened the door and left the motel room, the door slamming closed behind him.  
Ellen shook her head and smiled as she watched Dean practically sprint across the parking lot to the corner next to the office where the vending machine is.  
She was diligently studying the page about Poena when she heard a faint buzzing sound coming from the other side of the table. Dean's phone was lit up, a call coming in, as it danced across the table with each vibration. Ellen leaned forward in her seat toward the other side of the table, squinting to see if it was Sam calling.  
She sat back a few seconds later, realizing it was Cas. She would have answered if it was Sam, but Ellen had not yet met the illusive angel known as Castiel, and did not want to alarm him by answering Dean's phone.  
A few seconds after the vibrating stopped, Dean opened the door to the motel and walked inside, a pouch of beef jerky and chips in his hand. He tore open the pouch of jerky and began eating as he returned to his chair and sat down.  
"Cas called while you were getting your snacks. I was going to answer it but we don't really know each other. I mean, I've read about him, but a strange woman he's never met answering your phone...he'd probably flip his halo." Ellen smiled, watching Dean loudly chew on his jerky.  
"Probably a good choice." Dean smiled back as he tapped on his phone and put it to his ear, listening to the voicemail Cas left him. Ellen could hear Castiel speak a few unintelligible words before the voicemail ended. Dean took the phone away from his ear and ended the call before pressing the green phone icon next to Cas' name.  
After a two rings, Cas answered, his voice more gruff and tired than usual.  
"Dean. I only have a moment. I am almost to the playground and I need to return to heaven immediately." He said, the soft hum of a car engine in the background.  
"I'll talk fast, then." Dean said as he tapped the speaker icon, set his phone down, and began to explain what's been happening over the last several days, including the information about Poena that Ellen had just found.  
After a few minutes of rapid babbling, Dean paused.  
"You still with me, Cas?" He asked.  
"I am several hundred miles away from you, Dean." Cas replied.  
"That's not what- Ugh. Do you understand so far?" Dean groaned while Ellen giggled.  
"I understand, yes. Something is killing patients of a hunter-only psychiatrist and you think it's some type of hand of punishment for a Greek goddess." Cas replied, in a monotone voice.  
"Yes. But the person we think did it killed herself before we could figure it what she was. You ever heard of anything else that has orange glowing hands?" Dean asked, still typing on the laptop, pulling up information about Poena.  
"Orange glowing hands, that feel very warm...almost like it was on fire." Ellen added.  
"Who is that, Dean?" Cas asked, a hint of confusion in his voice.  
"Dr. Barnes. She's the psychiatrist of the hunters that are being killed." Dean said.  
"Nice to meet you, Castiel. I've read about you and all the good you've done. I hope we'll be able to meet in person at some point. It would be an honor." Ellen said, her tone very soft and sweet.  
"I...uhh...I would enjoy that as well, Dr. Barnes." Castiel replied, hesitantly.  
"Okay, focus, Cas. Have you heard of anything that has orange glowing hands? We've ruled out a djinn and I don't know if Poena is our monster. It says here that Poena's entire body is one giant fire, not just her hands. It also says she was bathed in white flames, not orange...so that rules her out." Dean said, his eyebrow furrowed and face focused on the laptop screen.  
"Nothing that comes to mind, Dean, sorry. When I return from heaven I will come and help you. Text me your address." Cas replied as a car engine was turned off in the background.  
Dean tapped the message icon on his phone and was greeted by the picture Sam had sent him of Natalie's wrist. He looked closely at it, feeling the same familiar tingle in his brain that Sam must have felt when he noticed it the first time.  
"Cas, hang on. I'm sending you a picture Sam took of a mark on Natalie's wrist. They all look like burns, but something about the shape of the one right in the middle of her wrist...it looks so familiar. I can’t place it." Dean said as he opened a new text message and forwarded the picture to him.  
"Hang on." Cas replied after his phone beeped, signaling he received the picture.  
About thirty seconds passed, Cas shuffled his phone in his hand.  
"Dean, under the burn...there's Enochian." Cas explained.  
"Enochian? Like...angel language? What does it say?" Dean asked.  
"It doesn't say anything. It's just the letter "B". I don't know what it means." Cas said, a car door opening and closing in the background.  
"The letter B? It has to stand for something. Can you ask around when you're flying around topside?" Dean asked as he searched for an image of the Enochian letter B on the laptop.  
"What?" Castiel asked after a few moments of silence.  
"The angels, Cas. Ask the other angels." Dean said, his head in his palm, rubbing his eyes with his fingers.  
"Right. Yes, I will ask. I have to go. I will let you know if I get any information that can help." Cas replied before ending the call.  
Dean quickly swiped to Sam's name in his phone and tapped the phone icon. The line rang for almost a minute before Sam's voicemail picked up.  
_This is Sam, leave a message._  
"Call me." Dean barked before ended the call and looked up at Ellen.  
"Where the hell is Sam?" He said to Ellen, a soft twinkle of fear glinting off the deep emerald color of his eyes.


	22. Chapter 22

Forty five minutes had passed since Sam had left, and Dean was pacing back and forth across the length of the motel room, checking his phone each time he turned to walk back toward the bathroom.  
"Something's wrong. He wouldn't ignore my voicemails and texts for this long." Dean said, rubbing his head with his hand while still pacing.  
"Does he have GPS on his phone?" Ellen asked, concerned about how worried Dean looked.  
"No, I checked a little while ago...GPS is turned off...but his phone is on." Dean said, motioning to the laptop.  
"Call the local PD and ask if they've seen him? It's not like a black 1967 Impala is hard to miss..." Ellen said.  
"You're a genius." Dean's eyes went wide and he smiled. He quickly walked over to the table and sat down, rapidly typing away on the laptop.  
"Only on days that end in 'Y'." Ellen chuckled. "So...why am I a genius?"  
"Last year, Sam put a LoJack on the Impala when I was dealing with-" Dean paused a moment, looking up at Ellen.  
"Dealing with what?" Ellen asked, sitting up in her chair.  
"Alright, listen. I'm gonna tell you what happened, but don't get all shrinky on me, okay?" Dean said, pointing at Ellen.  
"Alright. Scouts honor. What happened last year?" Ellen asked.  
"A couple years ago, we were dealing with a Knight of Hell...Abaddon. She's impossible to kill, except by someone who has the Mark of Cain and First Blade." Dean took a deep breath and sighed.  
"So, let me guess. You got the Mark of Cain and killed Abaddon, but the Mark changed you? Turned you into someone you didn't want to be?" Ellen asked.  
Dean stared for a moment then blinked, a bewildered look on his face.  
"More like...some- _thing_ I didn't like. I ended up getting killed and coming back as a demon. Sam was able to cure me and turn me back to human, but the Mark was still there. It did things to me…the amount of rage and anger...." Dean's voice trailed off as he absently rubbed his right arm where the Mark of Cain used to be.  
"Do you still have it?" Ellen asked, looking at the spot Dean was rubbing on his arm.  
"No. Sam snuck around behind my back and was able to find a spell to get rid of it...but-" Dean began to explain before getting cut off by Ellen.  
"He did something you didn't like and caused another problem as a result?" Ellen said, putting her elbows up on the table and tucking her hands under her chin.  
“Stop finishing my sentences!” Dean smiled and lowered his head, laughing quietly.  
"Why are you laughing?" Ellen asked, confused by Dean's sudden change in demeanor.  
"You remind me of a friend. Charlie. She got wrapped up with Sam and his obsession to get the Mark off me and got killed for it." Dean said, his smile fading as he squeezed his hand into a fist before relaxing it.  
"Oh...I'm sorry Dean." Ellen said softly. "You two boys...always ready to do whatever it takes to save each other. How did it make you feel when Sam went behind your back?"  
"I mean, I hated him for it, but I don’t know if that was the Mark pushing me or just me. He put the LoJack on the Impala because he was worried about me. Everything he's done over the last year was because he was worried abo-" Dean stopped mid-sentence before squinting at Ellen.  
"What?" Ellen said, noticing Dean's suspicious stare.  
"No, no, no. I see what you're doing. You are NOT getting in my head. Nice try, doc." Dean raised his voice, wagging a finger at Ellen.  
"Worth a shot. If you ever change your mind, you know where I am and my phone number." Ellen smiled and shook her head. "Just have to work on finding a new receptionist." She mumbled, her smile disappearing.  
Dean's cell phone began to vibrate as he was still waiting for the LoJack software to load on the laptop. He snatched it from the table and hit answer, not stopping to look at the screen.  
"Sammy?!" Dean hopefully exclaimed into the phone.  
"No, it's me." Cas replied in his usual gravelly voice.  
"Yeah, Cas. What's up?" Dean replied after a heavy sigh, his anxiety returning.  
"Why did you think I was Sam? Is he okay, Dean?" Cas asked.  
"I don't know. We haven't heard from him in over an hour. We're handling it, Cas. What did you find out about the Enochian mark?" Dean said.  
"I'm already on my way, I'll be there as soon as I can." Cas said,  
"Thanks, man." Dean cleared his throat. "So did the angels know anything?" He said as he tapped the speaker icon, set his phone on the table, and began typing into the LoJack program.

\----------------------

Sam was startled awake by a sudden splash of frigid water soaking his head and face. He groaned and squirmed, feeling the abrasive threads of rope dig into the skin on his wrists and ankles, leaving him unable to move his arms or legs. He blinked several times, trying make out his surroundings through the water and blood flowing into his eyes.  
Sam glanced around quickly once he was able to see clearly, trying to see who splashed water on him and where he was.  
He was sitting, tied to an old metal chair in the middle of what looked like some kind of processing plant. The room was about the size of the bunker's library and war room put together. The majority of the windows lining the far wall directly in front of him were broken, sunlight shining through, and the ones that were still intact were covered in graffiti. Conveyor belts, old rusty chains, and large plastic bins were scattered around the room, along with several bulky pieces of machinery. Judging by the amount of dust covering the floor and machinery, nobody had been there in several decades at least.  
To his right were a set of double doors, sunshine coming through the seam between them. Sam’s eyes followed a trail of drag marks and footprints in the dust leading from the door to where he was sitting. As he was trying to focus and take in every detail, Sam closed his eyes; the dull throbbing pain in the back of his skull was taking over his senses again.  
He opened his eyes and looked down, desperately wanting to rub his head. He noticed a few drops of blood had seeped from his knees onto his dress pants.  
"I'll pay for the dry cleaning." A feminine voice said mere centimeters from Sam's left ear. Sam flinched at the unexpected feeling of warm breath right next to his ear; the sensation sending shivers down his spine.  
"Who are you?" Sam hissed at the person standing behind him.  
"I covered my tracks, but I’m genuinely surprised you haven't figured it out yet. I know that pop to your head didn't cause brain damage. Or...at least I don't think it did." The voice said.  
Sam could feel fingers touching his hair near the wound on his head. He jerked forward, moving away from the wandering hands.  
"So you're the one killing all the hunters?" Sam asked, trying to turn his head to see who was behind him.  
"I am. I've been doing it for years now. I got a little carried away with Adrian, I admit, but it was worth it. Didn't expect him to get gunned down like that. It was better than prime time TV!" The voice said with a chuckle.  
"Why? Why kill hunters that are trying to get help?" Sam asked, still squirming in the chair, his arms behind him straining against the rope.  
"Oh, Sam. I don't have to explain myself to you." The voice said, getting closer to Sam's ear again.  
"How do you know my name?" Sam asked, as he noticed a glowing orange hand appear next to his head to his left before he slipped into darkness again.


	23. Chapter 23

"Say that again?" Dean questioned, scribbling on the note pad to the right of the laptop.  
"Baltim Baghie. It's Enochian." Cas explained.  
"Well, yeah. We figured it's Enochian, Cas. What does it mean?" Dean asked, his voice fading off as he spun the laptop around to face Ellen.  
He tapped the top of the laptop screen with his finger, directing Ellen's attention to the screen. It showed a digital map of a few local roads nearby and a large red dot pulsing in the middle of a road labeled Belmont Street. Ellen nodded, writing down the name of the street on the notepad she had in front of her.  
"The literal translation is 'Extreme Fury'." Cas paused for a moment. "Do you remember years ago when I told you that Angels had come to earth for the first time in centuries to prevent Lucifer from rising?" Cas asked, referring back years ago after Dean was rescued from Hell.  
"Yeah, and you all were dicks. I remember." Dean said, spinning his laptop back around.  
"That wasn't entirely true. Angels had come to earth before. Special angels. They were handpicked and trained by Michael to carry out...important operations." Cas answered, trying and failing to hide his uneasiness.  
"Important operations?" Dean asked.  
"Are we talking assassinations, Cas?" Ellen added.  
"From what I understood from Joshua, yes. These angels would step in when demons or other creatures got out of hand." Cas added, hoping Dean would not keep prying.  
"Other creatures? Like humans? Cas, did they kill people?" Dean asked, a hint of anger apparent in his voice.  
"Occasionally...but they were all recalled and confined to heaven a long time ago when the popularity of hunting spread to more than a handful of humans. Once the angels realized that humans were able to control the monsters that were out of line, the positions of the Baltim Baghie were terminated." Cas explained with a sigh.  
"Confined in heaven...like in jail? Heaven has a jail?" Ellen added, her eyebrows raised and eyes wide.  
"No. Well, yes. Heaven has a jail, but that isn't where they were kept. They were free to come and go, but were forbidden from taking a vessel. The training they went through severely damaged their grace...so if they possessed a human, that training would take over, making them revert back to the homicidal soldier they were." Cas explained, the engine revving in the background.  
"So...Natalie was our super soldier angel? Then why is she dead?" Dean asked, motioning for Ellen to get ready to leave.  
"It appears that way, yes. Natalie was the vessel, I don't know the name of the angel that possessed her nor do I know why she is dead. When the Baltim Baghie take a vessel, the vessel is branded with the Enochian letter B. It serves as a type of runework that focuses their energy, It allows them smite quick and clean as well as control human feelings and emotions." Cas paused for a moment.  
"Dean, I'm a few hours away. You need my help. These angels are expertly trained and need to be weakened before they are killed. I was able to get the spell from Joshua, but it requires the blood of an angel to complete along with the angel blade. Wait for me, Dean. Please." Cas said sternly, his tone full of worry.  
"I'm going to find Sam, Cas. We found out where the Impala is from the LoJack and we're headed there now. I'll text you the name of the street and we'll wait for you there." Dean said, standing up and helping Ellen to her feet so she can get ready to leave. He picked up his phone and texted the street name to Cas as he made his way to his bed.  
"Wait...why did she kill herself then? Why kill a vessel that is strong enough to hold an angel like that?" Ellen asked, steadying herself on the table as she stood.  
"She...he...IT killed the vessel they were possessing to cover their tracks. Probably thought we would stop investigating, assuming it was just another run-of-the-mill monster." Dean said, grabbing his jeans and a flannel shirt from his bag on the floor.  
"Must have been why she used a silver blade. Trying to throw us off." Ellen said, limping her way to Sam's bed before sitting down.  
"Here, I'm gonna get changed so we can go." Dean said as he tossed his phone to Ellen and shut the door to the bathroom.  
Ellen caught the phone and held it gingerly in her right hand.  
"You still there Cas?" She asked softly.  
"Yes, Dr. Barnes." Cas replied after a few seconds of silence.  
"Please, call me Ellen." She protested, a warm smile on her face.  
"Yes, Dr. Ellen. How are you doing?" Cas said, the engine straining in the background as he sped down the highway.  
"I'm fine, Cas. Just a few cuts and bruises. Nothing I can't handle." Ellen smiled and shook her head.  
"I will heal you when I arrive. Please keep an eye on Dean. He tends to act without thinking when it comes to Sam." Cas said.  
"I know, Cas. I know their complicated history. Yours, too." Ellen sighed and closed her eyes before she continued. "Most of the hunters I've met idolize them...view them as heroes or celebrities. All I see are two brothers who are so terrified of being on their own that they will do anything to prevent that from happening. They wrap themselves in this violent and heartbreaking lifestyle, only leaning on each other to get them through. They don't realize that by only trusting each other, and you, they're more alone than they realize. Their codependency is dangerous, and I know they're strong...but truth is...I'm scared for them. I've offered to help, but Dean is about as open as a swimming pool in the winter and Sam-"  
"-likes you, so he doesn't want to let you into the world of crazy he's been through." Dean interrupted, leaning against the door frame of the bathroom.  
Ellen's eyes opened and snapped up to Dean, the rosy warm feeling of embarrassment spreading across her cheeks.  
"Dean...I'm sor-" Ellen stammered.  
"Don't be." he interrupted. "You're probably right. We don't trust easy."  
"I know." Ellen said, looking at the knife mark on her arm from the silver knife. "But I understand why."  
"Dean, the phone woman is telling me I will be there in fifty-two minutes. Please let me know if you find Sam." Cas spoke, slicing the tension in the air with his gravelly voice.  
"Yeah, Cas. Just hurry." Dean said, swiping his phone from Ellen's hand and ending the call.  
"Dean. I didn't mean to babble on like that. I got lost in the moment and spilled my guts to the one person besides you and Sam that knows what you've been through." Ellen said quickly as she stood up, she could feel the burning sensation of tears beginning to form in her eyes as she looked at Dean.  
"You're fine." Dean said, a quick smile making an appearance on his face before he started laughing.  
"What?" She said, crossing her arms across her chest.  
"I see why you like Sam. You both got that 'puppy dog eyes' look down pretty well." Dean said, making his way over to the door, still laughing.  
Ellen groaned but couldn't help but smile as she limped after Dean as he exited the motel room, stopping momentarily to grab her coat and read the street name off the notepad on the table.  
Ellen looked around outside, glancing left and right before she spotted Dean in the driver's seat of a decade old beat up sedan parked a few spots down from the motel room. He was hunched over, both hands in the space below the steering column. Ellen was on her way over to him when the car roared to life. He released the wires hanging under the column and slid fully into the driver's seat, unlocking the doors. Ellen slid into the passenger's seat as Dean put the street name into his phone GPS and tapped Navigate.  
The drive to the Impala only took about twenty minutes. Dean's eyes went wide as he slowed down, seeing the keys still sticking out of the lock on the trunk and the red gas can laying on it's side near the road.  
Dean slammed the car into park and jumped out, pulling his pistol from the back of his jeans and cocking the hammer back.  
"Stay here." He quietly hissed at Ellen as she was reaching for the passenger door handle.  
Ellen nodded as Dean strode forward, carefully scanning around as he made his way to the trunk of the Impala. He rapped his knuckles twice on the lid of the trunk, pausing for a moment to hear if any noise responded back. Hearing nothing but the soft thumping of his blood pumping in his ears, he quickly twisted the key in the lock and popped the trunk, swiping his gun back and forth as the trunk opened. Sighing, Dean continued his scan around the driver's side of the Impala, stopping when he eyed Sam's cell phone on the ground about four feet from the gas can. He tucked the pistol into the back of his pants and motioned for Ellen to come to him.  
Ellen jumped out of the car and limped over to join Dean. The blood surging through her body ran ice cold as she laid her eyes on Sam's cell phone as Dean knelt down and picked it up.  
"Son of a bitch!" Dean yelled, causing Ellen to flinch as his voice echoed through the trees surrounding them.  
She averted her eyes down to the ground as Dean began going through Sam's phone looking for clues as to where he might be.  
Ellen's eyes froze on a dark spot on the pavement a couple inches to the left of the gas can.  
"Dean..." Ellen gasped, her voice so soft it almost came out as a whisper.  
Dean's eyes shot up at Ellen, before following her gaze and moving to the spot on the pavement she was staring at. He walked over and moved the gas can to the side, seeing the dark liquid Ellen was focused on.  
He leaned down and pressed two fingers into the pool of liquid before removing them. He exhaled sharply and lowered his head as he turned his fingers toward Ellen. Dean's fingers were covered in blood, the thick crimson liquid slowly making its way further down his fingers as he held them out.


	24. Chapter 24

"You think he was kidnapped by this soldier angel?" Ellen asked after a few moments of silence passed.  
"It better not have kidnapped him. It'll be the last thing it ever does." Dean spat, his fists clenched at his sides.  
"Hell hath no fury like a Winchester." Ellen commented, trying to lighten the mood.  
As Dean began to walk over to the stolen sedan, Ellen placed a firm hand on his left shoulder, stopping him from going any further.  
"Dean, stop. Where are you going? We have no idea where Sam is, nor if the angel actually took him." Ellen said quietly, her grip on Dean's shoulder unwavering as he tried to pull away from her.  
Dean stopped mid stride and put his head down, a low grumble escaping his mouth.  
"We'll wait for Cas. He should be able to sense the other angel, right?" Ellen said, releasing her grip from his shoulder before lightly patting the spot she was holding.   
Dean turned around and sighed, leaning back against the hood of the sedan and crossing his arms. His eyes shifted to the gas can that was still on its side on the edge of the road. Eyes wide, he pushed himself off the car and walked over to the trunk, grabbing the keys out of the lock. He opened the driver's side door and slid into the seat.  
"Dean...stop. Please." Ellen said, thinking he was going to drive away.  
Dean turned the keys in the ignition, causing the engine to sputter and whine before he turned the keys back. He tried again a few seconds later, which resulted in the same outcome.  
"That doesn't make any sense. I filled up on my way back from Natalie's old address. Tank had to have been at least over half full. I don't smell any gas, so there's no leak." Dean said as he stood up out of the driver's seat and rested his arms over the door.  
"Do you think Sam was lead here on purpose? Someone made him run out of gas so he had to stop?" Ellen asked, her voice shaky.  
"Seems like it. I guess we can add 'absorbing gas' to these angels' skill list." Dean grumbled, slamming the door go the Impala shut, causing the car to wobble back and forth a few times.  
Ellen and Dean stood in awkward silence for almost twenty minutes before the sound of a vehicle approaching caught their attention.  
"It's Cas." Dean said with a heavy sigh. "Finally."  
Castiel approached quickly in a well-worn pickup truck, slowing to pull off to the right side of the road behind the stolen sedan. Dean quickly walked over to greet Cas as he was stepping out of the truck.  
"Thank you for waiting, Dean." Cas said, closing the driver's side door behind him.  
"You can thank Ellen for that." He replied, nodding his head at Ellen, who began to limp over to the two men.  
"Dr. Ellen, please. Hang on." Cas said, pushing past Dean and rushing over to Ellen.  
"Nice to finally meet you, Cas." Ellen said with a smile, extending her hand.  
Cas hesitated for a few seconds before shaking Ellen's hand.  
"You, too. May I heal you?" Cas asked, tilting his head to the side and looking at Ellen.  
"If it won't affect you too much I gue-" Ellen stopped the second the made eye contact with Cas, her mouth open and eyebrows raised. "Wow. They said you had blue eyes...but wow. Your eyes are almost as beautiful as Dean's. And just as bright."  
"I...uhh...thank you." Cas said, shifting uncomfortably and averting his gaze.  
"Who knew angels can blush?" Ellen leaned to her right and looked at Dean, a big smile on her face.  
"It's a compliment, Cas. No need to blush, man." Dean said, smacking Cas' left arm as he walked past him.  
"I understand it's a compliment. Thank you. Are you ready, Dr. Ellen?" Cas asked, looking back at Ellen.  
"Yes. Will it hurt? And please, call me Ellen, Cas. Not Dr. Ellen." She said, smiling.  
"Yes, Ellen. You might feel mild discomfort, especially with the large cut on your leg, but it will not hurt." Cas said, raising two fingers.  
"Alright, go for it." Ellen said, closing her eyes.  
Cas pressed his fingers to Ellen's forehead and closed his eyes. A soft, yet high pitched noise began ringing as Ellen's scratches and bruises on her face and arms began to heal and disappear. Ellen groaned softly and squeezed her eyes shut even more as the gash on her leg began to close up.   
"Are you okay, Ellen? I can stop if it is too uncomfortable." Cas asked, opening one of his eyes to see the grimace on Ellen's face.  
Ellen exhaled slowly. "No, I'm...I'm good. It's fine." She said, relaxing her face.  
Cas nodded, closed his eye, and continued healing for another fifteen seconds. He removed his fingers and groaned slightly, stepping backwards.  
"You are fully healed. I was able to heal the scar on your abdomen from the surgery you had as a child as well." Cas said, bracing himself on the hood of the sedan.  
Ellen opened her eyes and immediately looked down at her leg, removing the bandage and running her hand along the area where the wound used to be. She smiled and looked up at Cas, which caused her smile to disappear at the sight of the distressed angel.  
"Oh, Cas! Are you okay?" Ellen said, rushing over to support him as Dean came over to do the same.  
"I'm fine. Just weakened a bit. I will recover, just give me a few minutes." Cas said, waving off both Dean and Ellen's assistance.  
"You sure you're okay, Cas? You said this angel is a badass mofo, I don't want you to get hurt because you're off your game." Dean said, still holding onto Cas' arm to steady him.  
"I'm okay, Dean. Where is Sam?" Cas asked.  
"He's missing. Car was out of gas even though I just filled it, keys were sticking out of the trunk, and there's blood over there. I don't know if it's Sam's or not." Dean said, gesturing to the pool of blood on the road.  
Cas stood upright and walked over to the pool of blood before bending down and pressing his fingers into the liquid and withdrawing them.  
"He's not-" Ellen said, watching him.  
Cas rubbed the blood between his fingers, sniffed it, and dabbed a finger on his tongue...smacking his lips as he tasted it.  
"Oh, he did." Ellen said in shock, unsure whether to laugh or throw up.  
"Welcome to the wonderful wacky world of Castiel, Doc." Dean flashed a smile before patting Ellen's shoulder.  
"It's Sam. I'm sorry, Dean." Cas stood up and returned to Ellen and Dean, wiping his fingers on a handkerchief.   
Dean sighed heavily. "Can you use your angel mojo to sense the other angel? It should be giving off a lot of power, right?"   
"I tried when I got here. I can sense some residual grace over there." Cas motioned to the area near the blood pool. "But nothing else in the immediate area. I think they might be able to mask themselves from other angels."  
"But you would be able to sense her, right? If you got close enough?" Ellen asked.  
"Yes...but there's something else that might cause an issue." Cas said, shoving the handkerchief back into his pocket.  
"What, Cas? What could possibly make this day crappier?" Dean's voice was a few octaves away from yelling.   
"Joshua said that he believes this specific angel was not in heaven when Metatron cast the angels out...meaning their wings are intact. It might make finding Sam more difficult if this angel can fly him anywhere." Cas said.  
"Great. So Sam could be in Australia for all we know. Freaking wonderful!" Dean shouted.  
"Wait, Cas. You said Joshua said 'this specific angel'. Does that mean he knows their name?" Ellen asked after Dean stormed away, but still within earshot.  
"I spoke to him on my way here. He believes it is Aurriel, but couldn't confirm it. She was a lieutenant with the Baltim Baghie. She was very powerful and very dangerous." Cas frowned and glanced at Dean.  
"So first Gadreel takes my brother for a joy ride and now he's being held captive by a powerful and unstable angel soldier that gets her jollies off by smiting humans?!" Dean yelled as he pivoted on his foot and marched back over to Ellen and Cas.  
"Calm down, Dean. We'll find him. Being a hothead isn't going to help anything." Ellen said with her hands in front of her. "Breathe."  
Dean glared at her before taking a deep breath in and quickly blowing it out of his mouth.  
"Cas." Ellen turned toward him. "Is there a tracking spell we can use? Anything special about this breed of angel that can be used to track her?"  
"Wait...that might...Ellen. You're a genius." Cas said, his eyes wide.  
"Damn, twice in one day. I'm on a roll." She said, smiling.  
"What is it, Cas?" Dean asked.  
"If I can't track the angel, I can track the runework. It's complex Enochian and it gives off this...this magical footprint. That amount of focused power is unstable and if she is using her power, I might be able to pinpoint where she is with a spell." Cas said, practically darting over to the trunk of the Impala.  
"Do it. Here." Dean said, tossing the keys to Cas.   
Cas missed catching them as they bounced off the palm of his hand and landed on the ground. He bent over and picked them up, smiling at Dean when he was upright again, causing Dean to roll his eyes.  
"Dean...if she's using her powers...Sam..." Ellen said, unable to suppress the lump in her throat as her voice broke as she said Sam's name.  
"I know. Cas always comes through, don't worry. He's family...like a brother to me and Sam." Dean said, offering a quick smile.  
"Yeah, I'm just worried about him." Ellen said, fighting back her tears. "But...I did get something cool out of today."  
"What's that?" Dean said, shifting his eyes from Cas to her.  
"I can finally tell everyone I've been touched by an angel." Ellen said with an ear-to-ear smile.  
Dean groaned, shaking his head in disapproval as a smile crept across his lips.  
\------------------------  
Sam came to, still groggy from being knocked out by the mystery woman holding him captive. He blinked a few times and winced as the pain coming from the back of his head started throbbing again.  
He tried to move his arms and legs again, but was still restrained. He lifted his head and jerked it backward, flipping the hair out of his face. His eyes settled on a figure about five feet in front of him, sitting on top of a desk kicking her feet in and out as they dangled over the side.  
She was in a long white skirt with embroidered flower petals, a yellow button down blouse, and a thick cashmere shawl. She was thin and probably about five foot eight with light brown hair that was loosely tied up into a pony tail. She stopped kicking her feet and smiled when she saw Sam looking at her.  
"Good morning, Sam." She said, pushing herself off the desk.  
"Who are you? Or rather...what are you?" Sam asked as he shifted back in his chair trying to get comfortable.  
"My name is Samantha Griffin, a second grade teacher from Pottersville, NY. A few days ago I was Natalie Lynch, receptionist to Dr. Ellen Barnes." The woman grinned.  
"You're not a demon. Or a ghost. Don't think you're a shapeshifter or some-" Sam rambled out loud before she cut him off.  
"Okay, seems you need to use a lifeline. Here's a hint....you've been possessed by two in your lifetime and, from what I hear, it wasn't pleasant either time." She smiled again, her arms open and fingers wiggling.  
Sam tilted his head to the side and blinked, before his eyes went wide and he sighed. "You're an angel?"  
"Ding ding ding! My name is Aurriel. Soldier angel with the Baltim Baghie." She cheerfully replied, slowly walking over to where Sam was sitting. "Lieutenant, actually."  
"Baltim what, now?" Sam spat, furrowing his brow to hide his confusion.  
"Well, Sam." Aurriel began to walk around his chair. "Back a long time ago, Michael picked some angels to be his warriors. Not just any warrior. We were the...original hunters, you could say. Keeping the population of monsters, and humans, in check. If anyone got out of line, we would step in. I was selected when-"  
Aurriel sighed, stopped walking, and dropped to her knees in front of Sam, mere inches from his face.  
"I'll skip the babble. We're basically an elite group of angels that...handled things. We were comparable to your US Navy's SEAL team. Quick. Efficient. Deadly." She lightly tapped her finger on Sam's nose, stood up, and continued walking.  
"So, what? You're killing hunters because you want to take over again?" Sam asked, keeping close eye on her whenever she was in his view.  
"No. I want to clean the ranks. All of these...these...weak humans coming to Dr. Barnes for help when they couldn't handle the job. It's pathetic. When we would hunt...it was spectacular. We would move as a unit...so fast...leaving nothing behind. Killing things that need to be killed made us alive. It made us who we are." Aurriel stopped walking for a moment and closed her eyes before letting out a heavy sigh.  
"But then it all changed. Human hunters began to pop up and kill monsters, so it was decided that we weren't needed anymore. That we weren't important anymore! So they took our vessels and forbade us from taking another one. Yeah, we were free to roam the earth, but if we ever took a vessel, we were to be killed."  
"How would they know if you took a vessel?" Sam asked.  
Aurriel smiled and pulled up the sleeve on her arm. She turned her wrist towards Sam, showing him the burn mark and Enochian letter B.  
"When we take a vessel, this mark...this burn...serves as a way for us to focus our power. It's delicate runework that allows us to channel our grace into whatever we need it to be. Due to that redirection of power, heaven would be able to feel it...and they would come." Aurriel smiled and chuckled. "But thanks to Metatron, it's been chaos. No angels have their wings and their constant infighting for power has been deliciously brutal to watch."  
Aurriel leaned in right next to Sam, her breath hot against his ear again.  
"And the best part? I wasn't in heaven when the angels fell. I can go where I please and when I please. And when I saw you stroll into Dr. Barnes' office...it was like Christmas." She whispered, causing goosebumps to appear along Sam's arms.  
"So, you caused the Impala to stop. You trapped me to kill me? You think I'm some weak hunter who can't handle the job?" Sam growled back at her.  
"Oh Sam, so simple minded." Aurriel stood back up, walked back over to the desk, and leaned back against it. "This trap wasn't for you. It was for your brother."


	25. Chapter 25

"You want Dean? Why?" Sam asked, still trying to wiggle his wrists free from the rope.  
"Dean is damaged, sweetheart. All of the stuff he's experienced...his soul is tarnished." Aurriel sat up on the desk, her dangling feet swinging in and out again.  
"We're both damaged. I've been to Hell, soulless, and died multiple times. If either of us are damaged, I'm probably the most broken." Sam said.  
"You were damaged. I know all about you in the cage, losing your soul, going through the trials, and Gadreel being your copilot for a while." She scoffed. "Pompous dick."  
"You knew Gadreel?" Sam asked, trying to bide time as he felt some of the rope go slack around his wrists.  
"Unfortunately. The guy whined more than a spoiled teenager. He had potential and was almost part of the Baltim Baghie until he let the serpent into the garden." Aurriel rolled her eyes and slid her angel blade out of her sleeve, placing it on the table next to her. "Remember the suicide bombers Metatron sent? Gadreel is the one that told him about the runework we use to focus energy. The bombers were using a bastardization of it to focus their grace to explode." She chuckled. "Poor Gadreel. A gullible moron until the very end."  
"We're all a little gullible. He sacrificed himself to save Heaven from Metatron. Who hasn't made bad choices in their life? A few mistakes doesn't outweigh the good someone's done." Sam said, shifting in his chair to try and slide his wrist out from the ropes.  
Aurriel narrowed her eyes at Sam and pushed herself off the table. She fluttered her wings, causing her lurch forward and land directly in front of Sam in a fraction of a second. Sam jerked his head back at the sudden whoosh of air flowing at him and looked up at her.  
"Sam. Tssk, tssk. I can hear your thoughts. I can feel your feelings." Aurriel walked around behind Sam and pulled on each end of the rope, tightening it again around his wrists. Sam grunted and leaned forward, feeling the rope dig further into the skin on his wrists. He could feel something warm begin to trickle down his left palm to his fingers.  
"Now that you're not going anywhere, let's have some fun, shall we?" Aurriel smiled and rolled up her right sleeve. Her hand began to glow with a bright and hot orange flame before she placed it on Sam's forehead, causing him to yell out in pain; his scream echoing through the quiet building.  
\--------------  
Cas was hunched over the hood of the Impala, intensely staring at a map of the United States that was laid flat over a thick black blanket. He reached down and grabbed a silver bowl off the ground to his left, and placed it on the hood next to the map.  
"We ready, Cas?" Dean asked, removing an angel feather from a clear box in the trunk. He removed the shotgun holding up the wooden floor of the trunk and slammed it closed and walked toward the front of the car.  
"All we need is an angel feather." Cas replied.  
"Right here." Dean said, handing the feather to Cas.  
"I wonder what it would be like to sleep on a pillow made of angel feathers." Ellen wondered out loud.  
"Well, if we find this Aurriel bitch, I'll let you have a wing when I'm done with her and you can go to town." Dean said, a smile twitching at his lips.  
Cas stopped what he was doing and looked up at Dean momentarily before returning to mixing the liquid in the silver bowl. He dropped the angel feather into the bowl, causing it to glow with an intense white light. Dean and Ellen squinted, groaned, and turned away from the blinding light. Cas moved the bowl to the middle of the map and pushed the sleeves of his trench coat up his arms. He closed his eyes and placed a hand over the bowl, moving his lips and speaking in a barely audible whisper. The white light manifested itself into a feathery wisp of light and began to flow up toward Cas' hand. Once it danced across the palm of his hand, Cas opened his eyes to reveal they were glowing with an intense blue color.  
He removed the bowl from the map and placed it to the side; the white wisp of light remained swirling under Cas' palm.  
"Zildar lonsa piripsol." Cas spoke as he slowly lowered his hand down toward the map. Once his palm was pressed flat, the white wisp spread out over every inch of the map and swirled around like a thin layer of fog dancing just above it.  
"Now what?" Dean asked as he walked over and stood next to Cas.  
"Now we wait. If Aurriel uses her power, the grace should shift and peak over where she is on the map." Cas took the bowl from the hood of the Impala and tossed the remaining liquid out on the side of the road close to the tree line.  
"It's so pretty." Ellen said, moving to a position next to Dean. "Are you sure we should be doing this out in the open? What if someone sees?"  
"This road is closed. I passed a sign and barricade on my way here. Nobody should be using it." Cas said, placing the bowl back on the hood of the car.  
"What barricade? We didn't see one." Ellen said, raising an eyebrow.  
"There was a large orange sign and several wooden barricades at the entrance to this road back down there." Cas gestured down the road to direction he came from. "The phone woman even knew it was a closed road and was constantly telling me she was recalculating my route."  
"Sam was using the same nav app on his phone, it was running in the background when I was going through it. It would have averted him away from the closed road, but it didn't." Dean braced both his hands on the hood of the Impala, closing his eyes and lowering his head. "He ran out of gas on a road that was supposedly closed?"  
"Oh. It was a trap." Ellen's voice was a low whisper. "But why grab Sam? We still don't know why she's killing hunters. If she was some kind of elite angel that killed monsters, why kill hunters who are basically doing exactly what she did?" Ellen said, crossing her arms over her chest and leaning back against the driver's side door of the Impala.  
"Jealousy?" Cas walked back over toward Dean. "Joshua said that several of the angels that were part of the Baltim Baghie, including Aurriel, were not happy that their positions were terminated. Thousands of years of anger can cause - Dean." He stopped abruptly mid-sentence and pointed to the map in front of Dean. "It's working."  
Dean opened his eyes and stepped back from the Impala, watching the white wisp begin to swirl and gather on a specific point on the map. Cautiously, he stepped forward, leaning in to see where it was gathering.  
A few seconds later, the condensed wisp of light shot three feet in the air before settling back down onto the same spot on the map, causing Dean to jerk backwards and almost fall over from being startled.  
Ellen covered her mouth to stifle her laughter as she leaned in to see where the wisp had gathered.  
"It's over...huh. Winchester, Oklahoma. Well how's that for ironic." Ellen said as both Dean and Cas leaned in.  
"Looks like a small town, you think you'll be able to sense Sam if he's there?" Dean asked, turning his head toward Cas.  
"I am not at full strength, but by the time we get there I should be able to. I'm just confused as to why Sam hasn't prayed to me." Cas said, his expression almost sad at the notion.  
"You think Aurriel might be blocking his signal?" Dean asked as he pulled the blanket off the hood of his car and bunched it up into a ball.  
Ellen sighed and grabbed the blanket from Dean, opening it back up and folding it a few times before handing it back to him and shaking her head.  
"It's possible. If she is blocking his ability to pray to me, she might also be blocking my ability to sense him...but I will be able to see any warding." Cas said as he walked over to his car.  
Dean put the folded blanket back in the trunk and slammed it shut. "We'll lead. Try and keep up, Cas."  
Cas nodded and stepped into the driver's seat of the pickup truck. Dean returned to the driver's side of the Impala and got in, followed shortly by Ellen in the passenger's seat.  
"Ohh. Riding shotgun in Baby. Such an honor." Ellen said as she slowly ran her fingers over the dashboard and smiled.  
"Hey, hey. She only has eyes for me. Ain't that right, Baby?" Dean purred, gently patting his hand on the dashboard behind the steering wheel.  
"Alright!" Ellen laughed. "I'll keep my hands to myself."  
"Let's go rescue Sam and kill ourselves an angel. What do you say?" Dean asked as he turned the keys in the ignition.  
"Sounds like a plan." Ellen paused a moment and smiled. "So how often does Sam play the role of damsel in distress?"  
"Too often. I think it's the hair. Monsters think he's a girl." Dean smiled as he pulled away from the side of the road and turned around, heading for the highway with Cas cruising steady behind them.


	26. Chapter 26

The drive to Winchester took a little less than a half an hour. Dean had been singing along with decade’s old classic rock since they entered the highway and Ellen couldn’t help but find herself mouthing along with the words as well. With how tight he was gripping the steering wheel, it was evident that Dean was anxious, and Ellen was more than happy to subject herself to his horrible karaoke skills if it meant he felt better.  
Winchester was an average sized town for its location, but most of the houses were spread out over a large area and surrounded by trees, making the town look a lot sparser than it was. Dean waved his arm out of his window pointing to the side of the road before he came to a stop next to a small pond in a quiet area of the town that branched off the main road that cut through it. Cas pulled off behind him a few moments later and turned off the engine.  
All three climbed out of their respective cars and met at the back of the Impala.  
"Anything, Cas?" Dean asked, shoving his hands in his pockets. The wind had picked up considerably and, although it wasn't too cold, the wind chill was making the temperature feel about ten degrees lower than what it actually was.  
"I'm not sensing anything, but I'm still not at one hundred percent power and my range is limited. We might need to drive around." Cas said.  
"Alright, get in." Dean motioned to the Impala. "We don't need you closing your eyes trying to sense Sam while you're driving."  
Cas sighed. "Dean, I don't have to close my-"  
"Get in." Dean interrupted as he turned and began walking toward the driver's side door.   
Ellen looked at Cas and they exchanged half smiles and shrugs before following Dean to the Impala.  
Cas beat Ellen to the front passenger's side door and slid in before she could protest. She huffed and slid into the back, positioning herself smack in the middle of the back seat.  
Dean started the engine and expanded the image of the map on his phone and began to follow the roads throughout Winchester.  
Ellen leaned forward and rested her arms over the middle of the front seat, unable to hide her curiosity any longer.  
"So, what's it like?" She asked, looking between the angel and the hunter.  
"What is what like?” Cas asked, momentarily opening his eyes to look at Ellen.  
"Heaven? Hell? I mean, you guys have visited both. I'm just curious. If I've overstepped, please don't feel obligated to answer. I'd just like to know what my options are going to be when I bite the dust." She asked, shrugging.  
"I don't really remember much from when I had rescued Dean. I had lost my memory several years ago and while I remember most of the past, there are some things that are still blank. I do remember I lost quite a few feathers on my wings in the struggle to free him...but I what stands out the most are the things I sensed while I was there. The anguish, sadness, and fear...it was overwhelming." Cas sighed and continued. "Heaven is...complicated. Heaven as an angel is different, I see the operational side of it. Each soul creates their own personal paradise, so what heaven is like for a specific soul is really up to that soul."  
"Oh, that's amazing. I had no idea it depends on the soul. What was your heaven like, Dean?" She asked, resting her chin on the top of the leather seat, turning to look at him.  
Dean cleared his throat and shifted awkwardly in his seat, glancing sideways to see if Ellen was still looking at him. She smiled when she saw his gaze settle on her.  
“I…uhh….I was reliving memories.” Dean stammered. “From when I was a kid all the way up to an adult. I found Sam in one of his memories and we continued through them together. We were dodging a douche of an angel, though, so we didn’t really have time to stop and smell the roses, if you know what I mean.” He forced a smile.  
“I see. So when they say your life flashes before your eyes, you’re just reliving memories in heaven?” Ellen asked looking at Cas before turning back to Dean when she saw Cas had his eyes closed.  
“I guess so.” Dean shrugged. “Heaven’s Highlight Reel of your life, just without slow mo or cheesy music.”  
Ellen smiled. “What about…downstairs?” She said, her smile fading as she studied the profile of his face.  
Dean’s grip tightened on the steering wheel once again as he tensed his shoulders. “It’s Hell, what do you expect?”  
“I expected you to deflect.” Ellen smiled and sat back in the seat, crossing her legs.  
“Stay out of my head, Doc.” Dean warned, his posture relaxing.  
Ellen looked at Dean in the rear view mirror, causing him to look up and catch her looking. A smile twitched at the corner of her mouth, finding herself lost in Dean’s brilliant emerald eyes. She could see the loss and sadness he was holding in just below the surface and how heavily it weighed on him. She had forgotten to blink, causing her eyes to water slightly. She looked away and quickly wiped a tear from her left eye with her finger.  
“You okay, Doc? Puppy dog eyes backfire on you?” Dean smirked and laughed from the front seat, looking at her in the rear view mirror again.  
Ellen scowled at Dean, raising a specific finger on her hand in a rude gesture back at him; which only caused Dean to smile and laugh harder.  
Cas opened his eyes, confused at the sudden commotion. He looked around for a few seconds before his attention snapped to a building sitting in an overgrown field a few hundred feet back from the road to their left.   
“Dean. There.” He gestured to the building.  
Dean slowed the car down and studied the building. “You sure?”  
“Yes. I can sense…something powerful. I can also sense something that feels like warding, but I don’t see anything obvious on the exterior of the building.” He said closing and opening his eyes a few times as he spoke.  
Dean slowed the car down to a crawl, moving his eyes over every detail on the building. It was severely dilapidated; graffiti covering the outer walls and the unbroken windows still remaining in their panes. The grassy area around the building was obviously unkept and neglected and was apparent that the property has not had an owner for quite some time. Rusted letters perched on the roof of the building spelled “AL_CO INDUSTRIES”, a letter was obviously missing between the L and C of the first word. Dean’s eyes followed the narrow dirt road that led to a small parking lot to the left of the building, He looked around, shaking his head.  
“No places for cover, so we can’t sneak up.” He grumbled, pressing his foot down on the accelerator.  
“So what’s the plan then? You have the spell to weaken her, right Cas?” Ellen asked, shifting up in her chair again and leaning forward into the front seat.  
“I do. I have memorized the verbal part of the spell, but it needs a sigil to complete. It’s similar to the banishment sigil, but this one needs to be done in angel blood.” Cas kept his eyes on the building as Dean continued down the road.  
“Wait. What?!” Dean said as he pulled the Impala off to the side of the road about a half mile away from the building and putting it in park. “You need a sigil?”  
“Yes. I had told you the spell needs angel blood.” Cas blinked at Dean, not understanding why he was upset.  
“So how the hell are we supposed to distract Arnold Schwarzen-angel long enough for you to paint a sigil? She’ll be able to sense you and see you! You’re as good as dead if we do that, Cas!” Dean said, gesturing wildly at the stunned angel in the passenger’s seat.  
“She can’t sense me, Dean. I still have the warding on my chest that protects me against all angels.” Cas turned to look at Ellen. “Ellen can help you now that she is healed Dean, and I know you will be able to distract her because she has Sam.”  
“So you want to put Sam and the Doc in danger while you finger paint the wall and hope she doesn’t see you? She’s a shrink, Cas. Not a hunter!” Dean raised his voice.  
“Guys…” Ellen said, trying to interrupt.  
“No, Dean. I’m not trying to put anyone in danger. Aurriel can’t be killed without weakening her, and you’re only focusing on rescuing Sam instead of destroying the threat against him.” Cas had raised his voice back at Dean.  
“Sam IS my priority, Cas! He should be yours as well. Or have you forgotten that you-“  
“SHUT UP! BOTH OF YOU!” Ellen yelled, interrupting Dean mid-sentence and prompting both men in the front seat to turn and look at her.  
Dean blinked, his mouth slightly open in bewilderment. Cas squinted his eyes at Ellen and tilted his head to the side.  
Cas took in a breath. “Ellen-“  
“No. You two are bickering like a married couple.” She looked at Dean and pointed. “I may be a shrink, but you’re forgetting that I did hunt down and kill the werewolf that killed my husband…not to mention the dozens of cases I worked with other hunters along the way. I know how to use a gun and I’m probably a better shot than you are.”   
She snapped her attention to Cas, still pointing. “This sigil. It doesn’t have to be painted on a wall right? Why don’t we paint it on the back of my shirt and I can keep it under my jacket until we need it. When you’re ready, I’ll turn around and take my jacket off so you can activate it. Sound good?” Ellen’s eyes darted back and forth between Dean and Cas.  
The men exchanged looks and shrugged.  
“The sigil has to be painted precisely. This may require you to remove your shirt so I can paint it on a flat surface.” Cas said, avoiding eye contact.  
“Fine. You got a flannel in the trunk?” She asked Dean.  
“Yeah…but we need to do something first.” Dean said, putting the car in drive and continuing down the road. He picked up his phone and tapped around on the map on the screen before zooming in.  
“Yahtzee.” He whispered to himself as he revved the engine.


	27. Chapter 27

Two minutes later, Dean took a sharp right down a small path in the middle of a heavily wooded area. He continued down the path for another few minutes before stopping in a small clearing and shifting into park. He turned the engine off and removed his keys.  
“Come on, Doc.” He said, opening the driver’s side door and stepping out; Cas following shortly after him.  
Ellen followed, sliding to the left and opening the door to step out. Dean was already riffling around in the trunk as both Ellen and Cas arrived next to him at the same time. Dean looked up at Ellen and raised an eyebrow. He moved a few pouches around in the trunk before he removed a pistol. He closed the floor of the trunk, reached into a duffel bag laying on the far right side of the trunk, and removed a flannel shirt. He closed the trunk and turned to Ellen, offering both items to her.  
"Hunter gear one-oh-one. Flannel and guns." Dean smirked as Ellen sighed and grabbed both items from his hand, placing the gun carefully on the trunk.  
Ellen slipped off her jacket, laid it next to the gun, and began to undo the buttons on her blouse. Dean's eyes went wide and he cleared his throat, turning around quickly before Ellen could see him blush. Cas was still looking at Ellen, his head tilted to the side, as she undid the last button on her blouse.  
"You like to watch, huh, Cas?" Ellen raised an eyebrow and smirked as she made eye contact with him.  
Dean sighed and roughly grabbed Cas by the shoulder, forcing him to turn his back to Ellen.  
"You don't stare at a woman getting undressed, Cas. Not unless she's about to have sex with you." Dean tried, and failed, to whisper out of earshot of Ellen.  
"So if Sam were to stare, that would be acceptable?" Cas asked.  
"You...I just....ugh." Dean groaned, rubbing the bridge of his nose with his fingers as Ellen's laughter echoed across the trees.  
Ellen slipped her blouse off and quickly wrapped herself in the flannel shirt, her fingers making quick work of the buttons despite how cold she was.  
"Alright, I'm decent, boys. You can turn around." She announced, flipping her black hair out of the collar in the back of the shirt before grabbing the pistol.  
Dean and Cas turned around in unison as Ellen reached around to tuck the pistol into the back of her dress pants.  
"Nuh uh." Dean said, lightly grabbing Ellen's now flannel-clad arm.  
"What?" Ellen said as Dean led her to the small area in front of the Impala. She was able to momentarily look back as Cas took her shirt and spread it out over the trunk.  
"While Cas is starting a new design trend in women's fashion, I want you to show me that you can hold your own." He said, moving toward the tree line. "Wait here."  
Ellen huffed as she watched Dean search for something in the grass. He bent over several times and gathered the items in the crook of his elbow. He walked over to a tree stump that was about thirty feet away from her and placed something on top of it. He turned around and motioned to the tree stump with a smile on his face.  
"A pine cone? Seriously?" Ellen sighed.  
"Sorry we're not at the bunker and don't have a real gun range, princess." Dean said, his tone practically dripping with sarcasm.  
Ellen narrowed her eyes at Dean before she quickly flicked off the safety and cocked the hammer back. "I'd move if I was you." She raised her arms and spread her legs slightly, getting into a firing stance.  
Dean quickly stepped back, almost stumbling, away from the stump as Ellen aimed at the pine cone. She breathed out, moved her finger onto the trigger, and pulled. The loud bang of the gunshot was still echoing across the trees as Ellen lowered the gun and smiled, noticing the pine cone was no longer on top of the stump.  
"Beginner's luck." Dean scoffed as he moved toward the stump and placed three pine cones in a line about four inches apart from one another.  
Ellen rolled her eyes and took aim again, waiting until she was breathing out before quickly firing three shots. She chuckled and smiled when she saw none of the pine cones were remaining on the stump.  
"Not bad." Dean shrugged. "Last test."  
Ellen turned to look at Dean just as a boot slammed into her right hand, knocking the gun out of her grasp, landing a few feet to her side.  
"Dean, what the hell?" Ellen said, shaking her hand to stop the pain in her fingers.  
Dean was in front of her with his arms raised in a fighting stance, slightly bobbing back and forth on the balls of his feet.  
"Really?" Ellen could barely finish the word as Dean quickly swung his right fist toward her. She ducked to the right, avoiding his hit, only to be swept off her feet as Dean kicked her legs out from under her. She landed on her back with a soft thud, groaning momentarily before looking up at Dean standing over her.  
"Really." He said, holding out his hand. Ellen stared at him for a moment before grabbing his hand, allowing him to pull her up to her feet.  
"Alright. Don't go easy on me." She said, smiling, as she got into a fighting stance as well a few feet from him.  
Dean smirked as he stepped closer to her. She kept her arms close to her and fists ready, waiting for subtle clues as to when Dean would strike. She saw a twitch of a smile pull at the corner of Dean's mouth right before he lunged forward, swinging his left fist right at her head. She quickly blocked his swing with her right forearm before turning, wrapping her left arm tightly around his arm, and twisting it around behind Dean's back. He groaned and dropped to his knees, feeling the muscles tense and sting in his arm and shoulder due to the strain.  
Dean twisted and brought his right elbow around behind him, connecting with Ellen's right cheek. She stumbled backward and released Dean's arm as blood began to flow from her nose. Dean spun around and stood, concern in his eyes.  
"I'm sorry. It's a reflex." He began to walk over toward Ellen.  
Ellen lifted her head and wiped the blood from under her nose with the back of her hand. She turned her head and spit, trying to get the taste out of her mouth. She waited until Dean was close before she jumped up and kicked him, hard, square in his chest. Dean grunted and stumbled backward, disoriented as all the air left his lungs. Ellen moved forward swiftly and landed a punch straight to Dean's jaw. She swung again with her other hand, landing a second punch, causing Dean to topple over backwards, hitting the ground with a hard thud.  
Ellen placed her foot on Dean's neck and smiled, lightly pressing down. He growled and tapped her leg twice, causing Ellen to remove her foot. She giggled, looked down, and extended her hand. Dean slapped her hand away and sat up before getting back on his feet and rubbing his jaw.  
"Not bad." Dean cracked a smile. "Think it's broken?" He motioned to Ellen's nose.  
"Don't think so. I think my cheek took the brunt of it." She said, rubbing the area right over her right cheekbone.  
"Just wanted to make sure you're ready for a fight." Dean said as he bent over and picked up Ellen's pistol before handing it back to her.  
"I get it. Did I pass?" She said as she took the pistol, uncocked the hammer, clicked the safety on, and tucked it into the back of her pants.  
"You took a few hits and kept going...and you were able to land a few on me. I'd say you passed, yeah." Dean smiled. They both walked over to the back of the Impala to see Cas' progress with the sigil. He was just finishing the last curve of a swirl on the bottom left of the design as they arrived. The design looked very similar to the banishment sigil, but the rune in the middle along with the symbols along the outside were different. Dean opened his mouth as his eyes froze on the bowl of Cas' blood and bloody knife next to it.  
"I didn't get any on your car, Dean." Cas said before Dean could speak, not taking his attention off the shirt.  
"Yeah, ok. You almost done?" Dean said, shifting his eyes to the sigil on Ellen's shirt.  
"Just finished. We need to let it dry before you put it back on or else the blood will smear and ruin the design." Cas said, looking up at Ellen and Dean.  
"Why is your nose bleeding? And why do you have a bruised mandible?" Cas asked, his eyes darting back and forth between the two.  
"Making sure the Doc is ready for a fight. We're fine." Dean said as both he and Ellen nodded and smiled.  
Cas rolled his eyes and pressed two fingers from each hand to Dean and Ellen's foreheads. A quiet high pitched ringing noise pierced the silence of the woods as Ellen's bloody nose stopped dripping and the bruises faded from Dean's jaw.  
Dean slapped Cas' hand away from his forehead. "Cas, I told you not to heal me unless I'm severely injured or dying. I can handle the minor cuts and bruises just fine, Nurse Houlihan."  
"I like it. It feels warm and tingly." Ellen giggled.  
"Which is exactly why I don't like it." Dean grumbled.  
Cas picked up Ellen's shirt and held it out in front of him. "It's still damp, but will be dry by the time we get back. Please be careful and do not put it on until before we leave the car to head into the building."  
Ellen nodded and took the blouse from Cas, pinching the fabric between her fingers at the very top and holding it away from her. She turned and carefully opened the passenger's side back door of the Impala and draped the shirt over the bottom of the seat behind the driver's side. She slid into the seat and closed the door, looking back at Dean through the rear window.  
"Don't worry Dean, it's pretty much dry. Just tacky to the touch so it won't ruin the seat." Ellen said, smiling.  
Dean opened the trunk and placed the bowl and knife inside before shutting it. He turned to Cas and sighed.  
"Cas...look...I didn't mean...when..." Dean stammered before sighing.  
"I know Dean. Let's go rescue Sam." Cas said, flashing a quick smile.  
Dean and Cas walked to the front of the car and got into their respective sides. Dean started the engine and turned around, heading back to the main road toward the building.


	28. Chapter 28

Dean slowed the Impala down to a crawl as he approached a heavily wooded area a couple hundred feet down the road from the abandoned factory building. He shifted into park once he pulled off to the side of the road and turned off the engine.  
"This is the last bit of trees before the building. The grass isn't high enough in the field to offer much cover, but I say we go in from the side over there." Dean motioned to a small rusted metal door on the right side of the building facing them.  
"Sounds like a plan. You got any extra angel blades? I'm guessing she can't be killed by bullets." Ellen asked.  
"Yeah, we got a few in the trunk. Cas, you have yours, right?" Dean asked, opening his door.  
"I do." Cas wiggled his right arm and slid the angel blade out from his sleeve into his palm before opening his door and following after Dean. Ellen opened her door as well and stepped out, meeting Dean and Cas at the trunk.  
Dean opened the trunk and removed two angel blades, spinning one in his palm and handing it to Ellen hilt first.  
"Where am I going to stash this? My jacket doesn't have a magical expanding pocket like yours does." Ellen said, eyeing the angel blade in her hand.  
Dean sighed and opened the back door, removing Ellen's suit jacket. "You attached to this thing?"  
"Attached? What do you-"  
Dean didn't wait for Ellen to answer as he flipped open his pocket knife and cut a hole in the lining of the left side of the jacket. He took the blade from Ellen's hand and slid it into the hole he created.  
"Congrats on your very own magical pocket." Dean smiled as he handed the jacket to her.  
"Thank...you?" Ellen rolled her eyes and walked over next to Cas. "You okay?"  
"I am fine, Ellen. Are you? I sense you are nervous." Cas replied.  
"Well, duh, Cas. I haven't hunted in a long time. I'm just..." She sighed and closed her eyes. "Is the sigil going to hurt when you activate it?"  
"It might cause some discomfort, but it will not have direct contact with your skin, so it should not burn too much. I will be able to heal any burns you receive." Cas looked up at Ellen and his smile disappeared as he saw her eyes wide in fear.  
"Cas, come on. Stop scaring her." Dean turned to Ellen. "You'll be fine, Doc. Just follow our lead and stay out of the line of fire. We can't kill Aurriel without the sigil."  
Ellen nodded silently and walked over to the back door of the Impala, removing the bloody blouse from the seat. She gently ran her finger over part of the design and exhaled slowly when she saw no blood on her finger.  
"It's dry. We ready?" She said, starting to unbutton the flannel shirt she was still wearing.  
Dean and Cas turned around away from Ellen as she slipped off the flannel, put on the blouse and began to button it.   
"I'm decent. What's the plan?" Ellen asked, slipping on her jacket and adjusting the position of the angel blade against her torso.  
"We go in the side door, surprise her. I'll distract her while you and Cas make your way around the inside of the building to flank her. When I get close enough, you pop the sigil, I pop the angel, we free Sam and we get the hell out of here." Dean said in a stern authoritative voice.  
All three exchanged glances at one another and nodded. Dean gently closed the trunk and back door of the Impala and led the way through the trees to the edge of the small field.  
"You sure there's no warding inside, Cas? You feeling okay?" Dean whispered.  
"I don't sense anything, but I can't guarantee that Aurriel will not have an effect on me." Cas grumbled back at him. "She borders the power of an archangel."  
"As long as you can cut your hand and slap Ellen's back, that's all we need. I'll take care of the angel light show." Dean wiggled the angel blade in his hand and slid it back into his jacket. "Ellen, stay close to Cas. Our focus is killing Aurriel first."  
Ellen nodded and smiled the best smile she could muster through her fear. Dean spun around, crouched down, and began to slink across the field with Cas and Ellen following closely behind. All three reached the side of the building with no issues and waited for a few minutes to get their bearings. Dean stood slowly, trying to peek into the glass window on the metal door. The window was nothing close to transparent...he couldn't make out anything through the thick layer of dust and grime that coated most of the window and door. Dean shook his head as he lowered himself back down into a crouching stance.  
Dean mouthed "Ready?" to Ellen and she nodded in response. He shifted his eyes to Cas who also nodded. He reached his hand up on the door handle and stood up, slowly turning the handle and pushing the door. It opened slowly inward allowing Dean to sneak in, still low to the ground. He held the door for Ellen and Cas as they crouched inside to the left side of the door in the shadows. Dean grabbed a small brick and placed it on the ground next to the door frame before slowly allowing the door to rest against the brick, propping it open.  
Cas placed his hand on Ellen's shoulder and nodded his head to the area behind them before he turned and began to shuffle toward the corner. She nodded and turned on the balls of her feet, crouching after Cas as he made his way around the corner behind the long row of machinery next to the wall.  
Dean slowly made his way through a row of several large bins and conveyor belts until he spotted a female figure standing directly in front of Sam. He shifted his weight and leaned to his right to get a better look at Sam. His feet were still tied to the chair, but his hands were folded in his lap, unmoving, and his mouth was slightly open. Dean continued closer to Sam before freezing mid-stride as Aurriel's laughter thundered through the building.  
"Oh, Dean. Trying to sneak up on someone? Come on. Is this amateur hour? I expected so much more from the great Dean Winchester." She smirked and turned around, locking eyes with Dean, who was still partially crouched behind a large conveyor belt. He stood up and brushed the dust off the side of his pantleg and shrugged.  
"Doesn't matter. I'm still going to kill you." Dean hissed, cautiously moving closer to her.  
"I doubt that." Aurriel spat, stepping to the left, allowing Dean to get a full glimpse at Sam.  
Sam's eyes were open, his gaze completely frozen on Aurriel. His eyes were lightly clouded with an orange hue and he had several welts on his forehead and cheeks as well as dried blood around his wrists and face. Dean furrowed his brow and swallowed hard, shifting his eyes back to Aurriel, who had moved, standing to the left of the chair.  
"What did you do to him?" Dean snapped, his right hand clenching into a fist.  
"I made him compliant. Like my own little piece of Play-Doh." Aurriel said as she ran her fingers through Sam's hair. Her eyes went wide and fingers froze, still tangled in Sam's hair, and the smile disappeared from her face. She quickly stood upright and glared at Dean.  
"That...that's not coming from you. I sense...love? Love and jealousy?" Aurriel looked at Dean in confusion before she raised an eyebrow and began to look around the inside of the building.  
Dean continued moving forward toward Aurriel as she looked around, stopping if her gaze went over him. Her eyes finally rested on a spot in the corner of the building behind a large circular piece of machinery.  
"Dr. Barnes?" Aurriel questioned, standing on her tip toes to try and see over the top of the machine.  
Ellen stood up and brushed off her jacket. She strode out from her hiding spot and glared at Aurriel.  
"You brought the Doc as back up?" Aurriel laughed, pointed at Ellen, and looked back at Dean. "Are you kidding?!"   
"Not just the Doc." Dean smirked, trading nods with Ellen.  
Cas jumped up from his spot behind the piece of machinery and ran over, taking a spot next to Ellen. Aurriel looked back toward Ellen and narrowed her eyes at the sudden appearance of Castiel.  
"Castiel. It's been a long time." She shook her head. "I don't understand what He sees in you. You're just as broken as The Winchesters."  
"Why are you doing this Aurriel? You were supposed to be a soldier. You were supposed to protect humans from corruption and evil." Cas said as he slid a knife down his sleeve into his right hand, rotating his wrist to keep it out of sight.  
"I am a soldier. These hunters are damaged and reckless. They can't do their jobs anymore and they’re putting people at risk. They're letting innocent people die due to their incompetence! I'm doing you all a favor by weeding out the bad apples." Aurriel raised her voice and pointed at Cas. "You of all people should understand. The worst thing Michael ever did was getting rid of the Baltim Baghie. We were the saviors of humanity!"  
Dean continued to inch his way toward Sam while Aurriel was distracted with Ellen and Cas.   
"You aren't a savior. You're killing innocent people that are just getting help with their problems. You're killing hunters that are bettering themselves. You're killing my friends." Ellen glared back at Aurriel. "And we're doing the rest of humanity a favor by killing you."  
Ellen spun around, her back facing Aurriel, and quickly shrugged off her jacket, revealing the sigil on the back of her blouse. Cas raised the knife in his hand and dragged it across his left palm, slicing it open. Blood dripped down his arm as he shifted to his right and held on to Ellen's shoulder. Ellen closed her eyes and braced herself as she felt Cas slam his hand onto her back in the middle of the sigil. The dampness of the blood seeping through her shirt was quickly snuffed out by an intense burning sensation on her skin. She could see a bright light shining through her closed eyelids and, over the intense ringing and whirring noise, she could hear Aurriel scream. She grunted at the intense pain spreading over her back as she began to stumble, only to be comforted by Cas squeezing her shoulder to keep her steady.  
Less than three seconds later, the sigil was no longer active and Ellen blinked, opening her eyes.   
"Are you okay, Ellen?" Cas whispered as he held onto her.  
"I'm okay, Cas. The sigil...it burned." Ellen winced at the stabbing pain radiating from her back.  
Ellen turned around and Cas looked up to see Aurriel still in the same spot. Dean broke out into a full sprint at Aurriel, sliding the angel blade out from his jacket as he ran. He stopped just short of her and quickly and forcefully thrust the angel blade into her lower back all the way to the hilt. Dean released his grasp on the blade as Aurriel grunted and stumbled forward. The blade had completely penetrated through her torso, and about an inch of the tip of the blade was visible on her abdomen. She turned to look at Dean, blood dripping down her blouse from the tip of the angel blade sticking out from her stomach.  
"Did you really think that would work?" Aurriel laughed and reached around her back, grabbing a hold of the hilt of the angel blade. She exhaled sharply as she pulled the blade out of her body and dropped it on the ground next to her. The loud metallic clattering from the angel blade hitting concrete filled the deafening silence of the building as Dean, Ellen, and Cas all took a half step back from her.   
Cas put his arm in front of Ellen, gently leading her to stand behind him. He turned to her and reached up two fingers to her forehead to heal her burns. A few moments later, Cas removed his fingers and looked at Ellen, his eyes wide.  
"I...I can't heal you." He whispered before he put his fingers to her forehead again.   
"What's the matter, Castiel? Feeling impotent?" Aurriel smiled and turned to face him.  
Cas turned and slid his angel blade out from his sleeve into his palm.  
"I guess that was something Joshua forgot to mention, Castiel. This rune not only focuses my grace...it also, albeit temporarily, absorbs the grace of any angel nearby." Aurriel chuckled and rubbed her hands together. "You're human."


	29. Chapter 29

"How is that possible? I don't feel like I did when I was human." Cas said, looking at the gash on his hand that was still open and bleeding.  
"Well, you're not completely human, but your blood was close enough to human that the sigil doesn't work. I'm diverting your celestial power to me, so you're pretty much as close as you're going to get, aside from actually having your grace extracted." Aurriel put her hands on her hips and smiled before turning on one foot to face Dean.  
"Dean. You stabbed me. That wasn't very nice. I like this vessel." She said, a sly grin twitching across her lips.  
Ellen groaned and closed her eyes, the pain from the burns becoming overwhelming as her knees gave out. Cas wrapped his arm under Ellen's and caught her before she hit the ground, trying to steady her. He gently pulled her backward close to the wall and slowly lowered her to the floor.  
"Once we kill Aurriel, I will be able to heal you. Please stay awake, Ellen." Cas whispered before he stood up and walked back to his spot opposite Aurriel. He exchanged nods with Dean as they squared their positions, ready for a fight.  
"Two against one?" Aurriel turned her head back and forth between Dean and Cas. "How about we even the odds?"  
Aurriel closed her eyes and mumbled incoherently under her breath. The rune on her wrist began to glow with a deep crimson color before small wisps of white and orange sparked off it. One of the wisps of light shot out directly toward Dean, causing him to drop to a crouch to avoid it. Aurriel opened her eyes and turned to face Dean, a smile on her face. Her eyes shifted to Sam as she snapped her fingers and released the ropes around Sam's ankles. Dean stood back up and turned around, only to be face to face with Sam. His eyes were faintly glowing and still clouded by a dark red hue.  
"Sammy?" Dean's eyes widened as he stepped backward and raised his hands, staring into the glowing red eyes of his brother.  
"Damaged soul." Sam growled as he slowly stepped forward toward Dean. "You don't deserve to be a hunter."  
Dean continued to walk backward as Sam kept stepping closer to him. Sam slid his pocket knife out from his back pocket and flipped it open.  
"Son of a bitch." Dean whispered to himself as he quickly looked around near him. He did a double take at the rows of conveyor belts and machines and looked back at Sam, who was steadily closing in on him.  
"Dean?" Cas stepped closer to Aurriel and tightened his grip on his angel blade as he watched Sam walking toward Dean.  
"I'm good Cas, just figure out how to kill this bitch." Dean said as he darted to his right in between the rows of conveyor belts. He stumbled slightly as his feet lost traction on the thick layer of dust on the ground, but recovered a few seconds later as he peeked over his shoulder at Sam, who was still hot on his heels and wildly swinging the knife.  
Ellen's eyes were fluttering open and closed as she tried and failed to stand up. She was able to catch a glimpse of Cas moving toward Aurriel with his angel blade before she swatted her hand and sent him flying into the wall next to the main door to the building. She saw Sam chasing after Dean with a knife through the maze of machinery. She shook her head as she felt tears burning the back of her eyes.  
Aurriel picked Cas up off the ground after he had collapsed from the shock of the impact and had her hand wrapped around his throat, lifting him off the ground.  
"Face it, Castiel. All you are is the useless sidekick to a couple of damaged monsters who call themselves human. I can feel it...your grace is so weak, you're almost as damaged as they are." Aurriel hissed before she turned and threw Cas across the room toward the rows of equipment. He slid to a stop at the base of one of the larger pieces of machinery directly in front of where Ellen was sitting. He groaned as he wiped blood away from his lip and shifted so he was on all fours with his head down.  
"Cas." Ellen whispered. "That's it. The rune focuses her power. If we damage or remove the rune, she's just a regular angel, right?"  
"I don't know." Cas grunted. "I don't know how the rune works, but it might be our only shot. I don't know how long Dean can avoid Sam."  
Ellen nodded and winced as she pushed herself off the floor to stand up. She extended her hand and steadied herself on the wall before she turned and glared at Aurriel.  
"Really, Doc? You smell..." Aurriel sniffed the air and chuckled. "A little crispy."  
"Crispy or not, I'm still stronger than you." Ellen reached down and pulled the angel blade out from the lining of her jacket. "You manipulated me so you could kill innocent people and you don't care how much it hurt me. The only monster here is you. The only damaged one here...is you."  
"Spare me the speech, Doc. If you get in the way of my mission, I will kill you. A small sacrifice for the greater good." Aurriel smirked and motioned a 'come here' gesture with her hand. "I love playing with Dad's toys."  
Cas stood up next to Ellen and they exchanged looks. Ellen winked at Cas and smiled as she took off toward Aurriel in a full sprint.  
Dean was still playing cat-and-mouse with Sam through the various pieces of equipment in the building, bobbing and weaving around each one as Sam continued reaching for him and swinging his knife. Sam grabbed onto the back of Dean's jacket and yanked, hard, pulling Dean back toward him. Dean wiggled his arms out of his jacket and continued running, rounding the corner and ducking down behind a conveyor belt two rows away from Sam. He peaked up over the top of the conveyor belt to see where his brother was.  
"Come on Sam, this isn't you." Dean announced, slowly shifting his way down the side of the conveyor belt toward the side wall of the building.  
"Your soul is weak. You're damaged and dangerous. You need to be eliminated." Sam growled back at Dean as he quickly began walking toward where Dean's voice had come from.  
"What are you now, a Dalek?" Dean said as he reached the end of the conveyor belt and made a quick dash toward the side door they had entered through. He pulled it open and ran outside as Sam reached the spot next to the conveyor belt Dean had been in. He looked up at the opening and closing door and sprinted toward it, flinging it open mere seconds after Dean had exited.  
"Sorry, Sammy." Dean said as Sam emerged from the doorway. Dean swung his right fist and landed a direct hit to Sam's jaw, causing him to stumble sideways. Sam steadied himself and immediately stood back upright, slowly turning to face Dean, his eyes narrowing.  
"Oh...crap." Dean muttered as Sam began to slowly walk toward him with the pocket knife clenched in his hand. Sam swung the knife quickly at Dean, but he ducked and dodged the strike. Dean rotated on the balls of his feet and lurched forward through the metal door, heading back inside. He kicked the brick out from the door frame and slammed the door closed before flipping around and pressing his back against the door. Sam banged on the door and pushed on it as Dean leaned back and pushed it back closed with his body weight, desperately trying to get traction on the floor for leverage.  
"Guys?! Do we have a plan?" Dean yelled, trying to speak over the loud banging noise of Sam ramming his shoulder into the door over and over again.  
Ellen had tackled Aurriel to the ground and had her pinned beneath her, straddling over her thighs to restrict her movement as much as she could. She leaned forward and began to punch Aurriel across the face, alternating fists with each blow. Aurriel grunted and raised both her legs, causing Ellen to tumble forward over her head and land flat on her back above her. Aurriel flipped around and got on all fours, smiling as she saw Ellen land on her back.  
Ellen screamed as she landed, the impact of the fall sending an intense shot of pain through her nerves. She gasped for air, trying to calm herself as her hands started shaking.  
Cas ran forward and kicked Aurriel in the ribs, causing her to drop back down flat on her stomach. He slammed his knee down on her back and yanked her left arm out, twisting it around her back until he heard the loud pop of her shoulder dislocating. Aurriel yelped at the sharp pain of the dislocation and began to squirm around and kick her feet, making Cas press his knee even harder into her back.  
"Ellen! Now!" Cas yelled, nodding toward the angel blade she had dropped when Aurriel flipped her.  
Ellen looked up at Cas and grinded her teeth, squeezed both hands into a fist, and flipped over on her stomach. She grabbed the angel blade in her right hand and crawled closer to where Cas had Aurriel pinned. She nodded as she shifted onto her knees, prompting Cas to pull the skin taut around Aurriel's wrist to fully expose the rune burned into her flesh. Ellen held the blade steady between both hands and lifted it above her head. In one swift motion, she drove the blade straight down through the rune, through her wrist, and into Aurriel's back.  
Aurriel let out a blood curdling scream as the blade pierced her body. A blinding white light shone from where the blade was sticking out of her torso, and flickering sparks of red and orange sprayed out from the edges of the rune. The sparks intensified in brilliance and created a swirling column of white, red, and orange that danced around the entire length of the angel blade that was sticking out of her back. A loud, almost deafening, twinkling noise started coming from Aurriel's body before the column of swirling colors was sucked back down into the rune. Cas looked up at Ellen right as Aurriel's body exploded in a vibrant burst of white and orange light. All of the windows that were still in tact shattered, and Ellen and Cas were launched backward from the force of the blast. Dean, still pushing back on the door, covered his eyes with the crook of his elbow at the blinding light that illuminated every crevice inside of the building. Ellen was slammed back against the wall next to the main door and Cas was flung on top of a large piece of machinery before bouncing off and landing on the ground with a hard thud. Ellen slid down from the wall and slumped over, unconscious, with blood dripping from her ears and corner of her mouth.


	30. Chapter 30

Dean slowly moved his arm away from his face once the room was no longer exploding with light. He blinked a few times trying to make sense of what happened. He brushed some broken glass off the side of his coat and began to look around. He was jolted out of his thoughts by a loud thud coming from the opposite side of the door he was still pressed against.  
"Sam?" Dean mumbled as he spun around and stared at the door. He reached for the door handle, but pulled his hand back after a few seconds and shook his head.  
Cas groaned as he shifted himself up to his knees, looking at the pile of snow white ash that now sat in the spot where Aurriel was.  
"Cas? You okay?" Dean yelled, turning around and standing on his tip toes.  
"I'm fine Dean. Ellen is not moving, I'm going to help her. You make sure Sam is okay." Cas said back as he stood up and made his way over to Ellen.  
Dean nodded and exhaled sharply before quickly reaching out, turning the door knob, and pulling the door open. His eyes instantly snapped down to the ground as he recognized the familiar look of Sam's large dress shoes and legs. He stepped outside and rushed over to Sam, who was laying on the ground next to the wall of the building with his eyes closed.  
"Sam? Hey...wake up." Dean said, lightly slapping Sam's cheek and shaking his shoulder.  
Sam gasped for air and sat up quickly before blinking and groaning as the pain from his head and the aches in his body took over his senses.  
"Dean? What's going on? Why am I outside?" Sam muttered, reaching his hand back and lightly pressing his fingers into the wound on the back of his head. He removed his fingers and looked at the blood dripping from them. "And why am I bleeding?"  
Dean sighed in relief and patted Sam's shoulder. "I'll explain in a minute. Let's get inside." Dean looped his arm under Sam's and lifted him to his feet.  
"I can walk, Dean. I'm fine. Just feel like I drank by body weight in tequila." Sam shrugged out of Dean's arm and stepped away from him.  
"Alright, let's go check on Ellen and Cas." Dean said as he made his way through the doorway and back inside.  
"You brought Ellen? Come on, dude. She's not-" Sam said as he followed Dean through the doorway. Dean turned around and pressed his palm to Sam's chest.  
"Sam...she proved herself and she knew what she was getting into. She's got gusto, I'll give her that." Dean said shaking his head as a smile twitched at the corner of his mouth. "She reminds me of Charlie."  
"Yeah, me too." Sam smiled.  
"So, what do you remember?" Dean asked as he turned around and began walking through the conveyor belts toward Ellen and Cas.  
"Well, I didn't remember anything when I came to...but since I've been up, bits and pieces have been coming back. I remember being hit over the head when the Impala ran out of gas. I woke up and I was tied to the chair." Sam motioned to the area where the chair was. "Aurriel was there watching me. She was talking about some elite angel task force or some crap." Sam groaned and shook his head, trying to shake loose some more memories.  
"You sure you're okay? Let me take a look at your head." Dean stopped and turned, rotating his finger, motioning for Sam to turn around.  
Sam sighed and turned around. "I said I'm fine, Dean. Cas can patch me up."  
"Ya-huh." Dean mumbled as he moved Sam's hair around so he could see the small two inch gash on his scalp. Sam winced as Dean continued shifted his hair around trying to get a better look at it. "You know...it would be a lot easier to see this cut if you had short hair."  
"Okay, enough, Dean." Sam turned around and put up his pointer finger before Dean had a chance to protest. "I'm not cutting my hair. If you want to continue to grow out your beard, I'm not going to stop you. So stop with the silly game. Okay, Dumbledore?" Sam grinned and slapped Dean's shoulder before walking past him.  
"Dumble-who?" Dean questioned as turned and took large strides to catch up to his brother. "Don't use names I'm not going to understand. How am I going to hit you with a comeback if I don't know you're insulting m-"  
Dean grunted as he walked into Sam's back. "Dude? Why did you stop?" Dean sidestepped next to Sam and looked straight ahead to what he was staring at.  
Cas was walking toward them with Ellen's body in his arms. She was pressed against his chest with her left arm hanging down. There was blood dripping down the side of her cheek and down her dangling arm.  
"Cas...is she...?" Sam asked, his voice shaky as he felt the burn of tears begin to well up in his eyes.  
"No. She is unconscious and barely alive, but I can heal her. Killing Aurriel restored my grace, but I'm too weak to heal her completely right now. However, I did manage to stop most of her internal bleeding." Cas shifted her body in his arms so he could get a better grip.  
Sam let out a breath he didn't know he was holding and cleared his throat. "Okay, that's good. I'm glad everyone made it. What happened to Aurriel?"  
Cas turned and looked at the pile of ash on the ground. A light breeze blew in from the fully shattered windows, sweeping around some of the ash from the top of the pile.  
"Ah, dust in the wind." Dean laughed. "I love Kansas."  
"We're in Oklahoma, Dean." Cas replied as he turned around and started walking toward the brothers.  
Dean shook his head and rolled his eyes before slapping Sam's arm with the back of his hand.  
"Dude, get this. We're in Winchester, Oklahoma. Think she took you here on purpose? For the irony?" Dean said, before stepping to the side to let Cas pass by.  
"Dean...this was a trap for you. She used me to get to you." Sam said as he watched Dean run over and pick up his angel blade from the middle of the room.  
"Yeah, I kind of figured that when she sicked you on me." Dean scoffed as he wiped the blood from the angel blade on his sleeve.   
"Well...thank you for not killing me?" Sam gave a half-hearted smile as Dean walked past him to the side door of the building.  
"I knew it wasn't you, Sammy. Come on, let's get out of here." Dean held the door open for Sam as they both exited the building and walked through the field back to the Impala.  
Cas was already in the back seat with Ellen, who was slumped against the rear passenger door, still out cold. Cas had his eyes closed and his right hand to his temple. He quickly opened his eyes and moved his hand back to his lap as Sam and Dean both opened their respective doors and got in.  
"Talking to Joshua, Cas?" Dean asked as he started the engine, put it into drive, and pulled away from the side of the road.  
"Joshua? The angel Joshua from when we were in heaven?" Sam asked.  
"Yes, I was communicating with him to let him know Aurriel is dead." Cas said, shifting his attention from the back of Sam's head to Ellen.  
Sam nodded and turned in his seat to look back at Ellen. He pulled out a small handkerchief from his pocket and leaned over to wipe the blood from her mouth.  
"I got it, Sam. She's going to be fine." Cas said as he slid the handkerchief out of Sam's hand and continued removing the blood from her face.  
"You know when she's going to wake up?" Sam asked, not taking his eyes away from her face as Cas blotted the blood away.  
"I don't know. She's fighting, but her body was heavily damaged. I will probably have to heal her in stages so my grace can regenerate between-" Cas furrowed his brow and stopped wiping away the blood from Ellen's face. A fresh trickle of blood came out of her nose and mouth once he moved his hand away.  
"Cas?" Sam's body tensed as he noticed the look on Cas' face and the newly dripping blood from Ellen.  
"How is this possible? She's....she's bleeding again." Cas said, pressing two fingers to her forehead. He closed his eyes and tilted his head to the side.  
"Cas?! What's wrong?" Sam asked, almost yelling at the angel as he tried to heal her.  
"I can't heal her. She's bleeding too much and my grace isn't strong enough. We need to get her to to a hospital. Now." Cas said as he opened his eyes.  
Dean had already pulled out his phone and was searching for the closest hospital before Cas had finished his sentence.   
"Closest one is in Okmulgee about twenty minutes away." Dean said, looking at Sam. "Sam, I don't think..."  
"We have to try." Sam glared back at his brother. "Drive."


	31. Chapter 31

_Purrr._

_Purrr._

Ellen groaned and shifted slightly with her eyes still closed, feeling the warm weight of something vibrating on her chest. She moved her hand to her chest, only to feel the soft fur of an animal, making her eyes shoot open.  
"What the-" She said, sitting up, pushing the creature off her chest to between her legs. She stared at a cat and blinked a few times before shutting her eyes and rubbing them. She opened her eyes again to see the cat still there, licking it's paw.  
"Purrito? My...my baby!" Ellen's voice cracked as she scooped the small Maine Coon cat into her arms and began stroking it's fur. "Where...how...?"  
Ellen looked around cautiously, even though the sense of familiarity and safety overwhelmed her senses. She was laying on a soft leather couch in the living room of an apartment she had while she was still in medical school. Everything was exactly the same, down to the almost dead cactus in the windowsill that she could never figure out how much to water.  
Ellen turned and put her feet on the floor before gently placing Purrito on the couch next to her. She stood up and made her way to the extremely large bookcase on the far right wall of the living room. She brushed her fingers over the spines of the various books on the middle shelf. She had quite the collection of very old and rare medical texts that took up the majority of the bookshelf closest to the couch.  
Ellen closed her eyes and took a deep breath, tears welling up in her eyes. She could remember it clearly. The smell of burnt wood and smoke filling her nostrils as she was driving home from her last night class. She rounded the corner to her block only to find her apartment building engulfed in flames. Everything she had...everything she owned...gone.  
She was pulled back to reality, or whatever this was, by a soft mewl and a warm sensation on her right leg. She smiled and looked down, only to be greeted by the brilliant apple green eyes of the cat she had lost in that fire looking up at her.  
"I was wondering why Dean's eyes look so familiar." Ellen smiled and scratched Purrito's head between his ears. "Still doesn't explain how the hell I'm here. Unless...."  
"No, you haven't been kidnapped by a djinn." A calm male voice said from behind her.  
Ellen turned around quickly, backing up against the bookshelf. "Who are you? Where am I?"  
The man smiled and stood up from his position in the chair next to the window. He was an older black man with soft eyes and salt and pepper scruff on his face.  
"My name is Joshua. Please," He motioned to the couch. "Come sit down, Ellen."  
"Joshua? The Angel?" Ellen replied, hesitantly sidestepping toward the couch.  
He nodded slightly and smiled as Ellen sat down on the far right side of the couch, tucking her legs up underneath her.  
Ellen exhaled quickly and closed her eyes. "Am I...Is this?" She stuttered.  
"Yes, you are dead and yes, this is your Heaven." Joshua tilted his head looking at Ellen, as tears began to stream down her face.  
"Aurriel? I didn't...I didn't survive?" Ellen said between sobs.  
"No. Being that close to a celestial blast as concentrated as hers caused deterioration on a molecular level. Frankly, I'm surprised you weren't vaporized." Joshua replied as his eyes followed Purrito as he climbed into Ellen's lap.  
"Are the boys alright? Did they make it?" Ellen said, absently running her fingers through the cat's fur, trying to regain her composure.  
"Yes. Castiel was able to heal his own wounds and Sam is injured, but they are all alive." Joshua said, a smile twitching at the corner of his mouth. "All thanks to you."  
"Thanks to me?" Ellen scoffed and shook her head. "I just stabbed the bitch."  
"Be that as it may, the amount of good you do is unprecedented. You are one of a kind." Joshua replied, leaning forward in his chair.  
"Thank you." Ellen smiled and nodded. "But...I guess that's done and over with now." She looked down as her smile disappeared.  
"Ellen," Joshua said, placing his hand on hers. "You are not done."  
Ellen looked up and furrowed her brow in confusion. "What? I'm dead. How am I not done?"  
"Your destiny became intertwined with the Winchesters when they started investigating the deaths of your patients." Joshua began, before realizing Ellen was still confused. "Think of it as a detour on the highway you were already travelling on."  
"Alright." Ellen said, drawing the word out.  
"The Winchesters have the tenancy to...redirect destiny." Joshua sighed.  
"Oh, yeah. Lucifer and Michael's vessels and all that fun stuff." Ellen smiled. "I read the books."  
"Exactly. In this case, it wasn't their destiny they altered. It was yours." He replied.  
"So I wasn't meant to die?" Ellen asked.  
Joshua shook his head. "No. Your destiny is much more significant than you realize."  
"Are all Angels so cryptic?" Ellen shook her head and laughed lightly.  
"It comes with the job." Joshua smiled.  
A few moments passed before Ellen shifted her feet and placed them on the floor in front of her, taking a deep breath. "So what do you want from me?"  
"An answer."  
"To what?"  
"We are going to give you a choice. You can either remain in Heaven for an eternity at peace, or we will return you to your body to continue your path. We very rarely will provide a soul this choice, but we cannot make the decision for you as you have already died and deserve to be in Heaven." Joshua rested his arms on his knees and interlaced his fingers together. "If you need a moment to think, I will leave."  
Ellen blinked for a few moments before drawing in a breath to say something. She raised her eyebrows and shook her head, looking down at the floor and swallowing the thought. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.  
"Joshua. My passion is helping people. Whether it's being a shoulder to cry on, giving advice, or stabbing a psychotic soldier angel in the back." She smiled. "I know where my heart truly lies, and as long as there are hunters struggling out there, my work will never be done. My destiny will never be fulfilled. I may be one small person, but if I can change the life or destiny of even one lost soul...it's all worth it."  
Joshua smiled. "So, Ellen. What is your decision?"  
"I think you know." Ellen smiled and winked at Joshua.

\------------------------

"Dammit!" Sam yelled as the car came to a stop on the side of the road, about ten minutes after they started their journey to the hospital. Cas had told him that Ellen is dead and her soul has left her body, and there was nothing else anyone could do. Sam flung the passenger's side door open and stepped out, slamming the door behind him.  
Dean huffed a quiet _Oh, boy_ as he also opened his door and stepped out.  
"Every time, Dean. Every time we meet someone that does anything good in this terrible world, we get them killed." Sam spat, pacing around behind the car. "Charlie? Kevin? Sarah? Everyone! Those are all on US! If they never met us they would-"  
"Don't you dare say it, Sam. If they never met us, they would have been dead a long time ago. Ellen chose this. She chose to help us and died a honorable death. It was a hunter's death and she will get a hunter's funeral." Dean said calmly.  
Sam shook his head and ran a hand down his face before running his fingers through his hair. Sam didn't speak. All he could do was stare at Ellen's lifeless body slumped over in the back seat of the car. He dropped his head and braced his hands on the trunk of the Impala, exhaling sharply.  
"Sammy, I'm so sorry." Dean said, placing a hand on his brother's shoulder. "Let's get her home."  
Sam nodded after a few moments and patted the trunk with his hands. Dean stepped away toward the driver's door as Sam slowly walked over to the passenger's side and slid into his seat, giving Dean a solemn nod once he was situated.  
"Sam...I'm sorry that I-" Cas began.  
"No...it's okay Cas. You did everything you could." Sam turned and looked at Cas. "Thank you for trying."  
Cas nodded back at Sam with a sympathetic smile as Dean started the engine and pulled back onto the road.  
They drove back to the motel in complete silence to pick up their clothes and various personal items they had left. While Dean and Sam cleared out their motel room, Cas had moved Ellen's body so she was sitting with her back against the rear driver's side door and legs stretched out across his lap. He draped a blanket over her to make it appear that she was sleeping.  
Fifteen minutes later they were back on the highway starting their six hour drive back to the bunker. Sam sat in complete silence, turning off the radio every time Dean had tried to turn it on.  
Two hours had passed before the silence in the car was broken by Cas groaning and closing his eyes.  
"You alright back there, Cas?" Dean said, making eye contact with him in the rear view mirror.  
Cas nodded. "I'm fine. Just sensing a surge in celestial ener-"  
Ellen lurched forward, opened her eyes, and gasped loudly...taking in a deep breath before breathing fast and hard, looking around.  
"HOLY MOTHER OF-" Dean jumped, swerving the car into oncoming traffic before quickly correcting himself back into his lane.  
Sam spun around in his seat at the noise and stared at Ellen, his eyes wide in confusion and still bloodshot from tears.  
"Ellen?" Sam murmured as Dean pulled off to the side of the road.  
Ellen made eye contact with Sam, slowing her breathing. She smiled and nodded.  
"Hi, Sam."


	32. Chapter 32

Ellen smiled at Sam, her eyes welling up when she noticed his eyes were bloodshot from tears. Sam's expression instantly hardened as he reached behind him and pulled the demon blade out from his back pocket, holding it out in front of him at Ellen.  
"Whoa...whoa, relax. It's me." Ellen raised her hands in surrender, her eyes flicking back and forth between Cas and Sam.  
"It is true, she's not a demon." Cas said, squinting his eyes. "But I don't understand. How are you alive?"  
"Joshua. He gave me a choice. I could stay in Heaven or return to my body and continue my destiny." Ellen shrugged and motioned to her body. "I guess you know what my answer was."  
"But, why? You were in Heaven. Didn't you want to stay?" Sam asked as he sheathed the knife again. Dean looked at Ellen in the rear view mirror before sneezing twice.  
"Bless you." Ellen chuckled before turning back to Sam. "My work is too important. I'm one of a kind, as Joshua said. My passion is where my patients are, and I can't help hunters from Heaven." Ellen said, absently picking at the pilled fabric of the blanket on her lap.  
"That is very honorable, Ellen." Cas said, helping Ellen shift her legs off his lap and turn forward in the back seat. "One person can have such a profound affect on millions of destinies, and I am positive you alone will have a large impact based on the work you do."  
"What if I wasn't alone?" Ellen said, causing both Sam and Cas to tilt their heads in confusion. "I mean, what if I trained other psychiatrists to be able to handle hunters? The more there are, the more hunters we could help. It could be a network or therapists and psychiatrists scattered across the United States. We could do referrals and-"  
"Slow down, Doc. You just got brought back to life. Take a breather." Dean said, smirking at her in the rear view mirror before sneezing once again.  
"Sorry, bless you again." Ellen chuckled. "I guess being brought back to life makes you have a different perspective on how little time you really have."   
"I hear that." Sam mumbled. "I'm glad you're alright, Ellen. Do you feel okay?"  
"Yeah, I'm a bit sore...but otherwise I'm fine." Ellen smiled and patted Dean's shoulder. "At least I didn't have to dig my way out of a buried coffin."  
"Ha. Ha." Dean said sarcastically. "I was cleaning dirt out of my ears for months."  
"Well, at least I have my answer now." Ellen smiled.  
Sam turned around, leaning his arm over the back of the front seat, smiling. "Answer to what?"  
"What my heaven is like." She patted Sam's arm and squeezed his hand lightly.  
Dean sneezed once more and groaned in the front seat. "What the hell is going on?"  
"Are you okay, Dean? Did you catch a cold?" Ellen asked carefully pressing the back of her hand against the top of Dean's forehead.  
"Hey, driving here! I'm fine." He swatted Ellen's hand away. "I only sneeze like this when there's a cat around."  
Ellen's eyes went wide and she began digging around, shoving the blanket from her lap and onto Cas, causing him to grunt in confusion.  
"Oh my GOD!" Ellen's voice squeaked as she reached down to the floor next to rear driver's side door. She pulled a very scared green-eyed Maine Coon into her lap and began stroking it's fur.  
"Where did you get a cat?" Cas asked, staring at the creature.  
"Purrito. He was my cat in college. Died when my apartment caught fire. He was in my heaven." Ellen scratched between his ears, causing him to purr louder. "I guess Joshua has a soft spot for cats."  
Dean sneezed again, his eyes starting to water. "Feline resurrections aside, we're going to need to get another car. I can't drive if my eyes are watering and I'm sneezing every twenty seconds."  
"Dean, here." Cas reached up and pressed two fingers to Dean's head. Dean shook his head, slapped Cas' hand away, and furrowed his brow. "People touching me! Knock it off! What did you do to me?"  
"You are no longer allergic to cats." Cas stated, looking at the cat crawling on Ellen's lap.  
Ellen caught Cas' sideways glance and smiled, picking up Purrito and placing him on Cas' lap.  
"Really Cas? All this time I've been allergic to cats and now you decide to get rid of it?" Dean scoffed and rolled his eyes.  
"I was...not aware...you were allergic...until now." Cas stammered as the cat kneaded it's paws on his legs and laid down.  
Ellen giggled at how uncomfortable Cas was, before she reached out and moved the angel's hand to Purrito's head. "Scratch between his ears like this." Ellen moved his fingers over the area between the cat's ears, causing him to purr loudly and lean into Cas' fingers.  
"It's...vibrating. Why is it vibrating? Am I upsetting it?" Cas stopped scratching and looked at Ellen with concern.  
"He's purring, Cas. It's a sign of contentment, pleasure, or love. He likes what you're doing. Some humans like it, too." Ellen reached up and ran her fingernails through Sam's hair and scalp, causing him to groan softly and close his eyes.  
"Alright, Doc. Keep your hands to yourself, please. I don't want to hear those noises coming from Sam." Dean said, motioning to the area between them.  
"I remember from when I was human how pleasurable it was to scratch an insect bite I had received. I can understand Sam's reaction." Cas said, still awkwardly scratching the cat's head.  
"So where are we headed?" Ellen asked. shifting in her seat.  
"We were heading back to the bunker to burn your body, but...well...you're alive now...so..." Dean said, shrugging.  
"Yeah." Ellen chuckled to herself. "I'll give you directions to my house. The case is closed, so you don't need me anymore, right?"  
"Sure. I'm sure you have a lot of patients to see." Sam cleared his throat. "We'll stick around and help you clean up the office and get a new receptionist if you want."  
"We will?" Dean asked, looking at Sam.  
"Yes, Dean. All the stuff she does for hunters...it's the least we can do." Sam said through clenched teeth.  
Dean raised his hand in surrender. "Alright, alright. Where to, Doc?"  
"I live in Broken Arrow. It's southeast of Tulsa. If we're heading toward your bunker in Kansas, you're going to have to turn around." Ellen said, peering out the windows to look for highway signs.  
"We're on 35 North, a good hour and a half away from Tulsa. We can turn around at the next exit up there." Sam pointed to an exit sign that indicated it was one mile ahead.  
"Sounds good. Thanks guys." Ellen smiled before feeling Cas tap her arm.  
"Ellen. Why is he biting my hand? I thought he was enjoying the scratching?" Cas said as Purrito continued to bite and scratch at Cas' hand, softly growling.  
"If you scratch too long, it upsets them. If he stops purring, you can remove your hand so he falls asleep." Ellen laughed as Cas tried to pry his hand from the grip of the cat.  
"Such complicated creatures. Maybe we could have one in the bunker." Cas said, smiling at the cat in his lap that was currently on his back with his paws up in the air, swiping at Cas' hand.  
"No." Dean and Sam both responded at the same time.  
Ellen laughed and looked out the window as Dean pulled off the exit to turn around back toward Tulsa.


	33. Chapter 33

The drive back to Ellen's office was uneventful, except for Cas learning that cats enjoy scratching just as much as they enjoy being scratched, causing him to have to heal tiny cuts on his hand once in a while.  
Once the four of them made it back to Ellen's office, they began cleaning up and repairing devil's traps and making sure that all the salt and silver fixtures were still in place. Sam helped Ellen straighten the furniture and clear the debris in her office while Cas and Dean worked on sweeping up the dirt in the waiting room. Cas was almost done painting angel banishment sigils when Ellen and Sam emerged from her office with their clothing slightly disheveled.  
"You two have a quickie?" Dean smirked.  
"Nothing about your brother is quick, Dean." Ellen retorted before reaching over and gently pinching Sam's ass, causing him to flinch slightly and laugh.  
"Gross. First the hair and now that...stop groping my brother in front of me, please." Dean rolled his eyes and groaned.  
"You started it," Ellen shrugged. "But no, we didn't have a quickie. Moving furniture around and organizing all of my folders again took it out of me."  
"You need to take it easy for a few days, Ellen. Your body needs to readjust to being alive. It was heavily damaged by the explosion and, although you have been revived, your muscles need time to rebuild and repair themselves," Cas said as he finished the last angel banishment sigil he was working on.  
"Understood, Doctor Castiel," Ellen saluted and took a seat on one of the chairs in the waiting room. "Is that angel warding?" She asked, motioning to the symbol on the wall behind Cas.  
"It's a banishment sigil. I placed one on each wall just in case you run into any more aggressive angels. They do not need to be drawn in human blood, so they will be permanent. All you do is say this out loud," Cas handed a piece of paper to Ellen, "and the angel will be banished."  
Ellen looked at the piece of paper. "Yolcam gmilcalzo-"  
Sam snatched the piece of paper out of Ellen's hands. "Don't read it out loud, it'll banish Cas."  
"Oh...crap. My bad." Ellen chuckled nervously and took the paper back from Sam. "Thanks, Cas."  
"My pleasure," Cas said before furrowing his brow and looking at the doors to Ellen's office, "I believe the feline is in distress. Perhaps we should leave and return you to your home?"  
"Sounds like a plan to me," Ellen stood up and smiled. "Thanks for helping me clean up, boys."  
All three nodded and smiled as they made their way out of Ellen's office and back to the Impala. Purrito was sitting in the driver's seat and meowing loudly, his front paws on the bottom of the steering wheel.  
"Freaking cat is trying to jack Baby," Dean grumbled as he opened the driver's side door and shooed the cat into the back seat.  
Ellen shook her head and smiled, stroking Purrito from his head down to the end of his tail. She leaned her head back and closed her eyes, letting her mind wander. A few moments later, she opened her eyes again when she realized she was no longer scratching anything. She looked down to see the cat curled up in a ball on Cas' lap again, the angel scratching between his ears. She smiled and closed her eyes again, leaning her head back.

\--------------------

"Right there, the house with the garden out front." Ellen said, leaning up and pointing to a house a couple hundred feet ahead of them.  
"Garden?" Dean scoffed, "Never would have pegged you for the gardening type."  
"I water them with holy water. The plants absorb it and when I cook dinner for neighbors, I can make sure they're not demons." Ellen smiled and patted Dean on the shoulder as he pulled off to the side of the road, coasting to a stop.  
Dean raised his eyebrows and made a grunt of approval as he stepped out of the car.  
"Ellen," Cas said, scooping the sleeping cat off his lap and placing him onto the back seat before he stepped out of the car, "The warding you have on your home has been disabled."  
Dean and Sam exchanged looks and both pulled their pistols out. Cas slid his angel blade into his hand as they carefully walked toward the front of the house. Ellen grabbed Dean's shoulder, stopping him from walking.  
"There's a back entrance," she whispered, pointing to the small walkway to the left of the house.  
Dean nodded and mouthed "stay here" before looking at Cas and and pointing to Ellen. Cas nodded while Sam made his way behind his brother and followed him down the walkway.  
Both brothers carefully made their way through the back yard to the back porch on Ellen's home. The screen door on the back porch was wide open with the screen on the upper part sliced. Dean slowly pulled the door farther open and slipped inside, followed by Sam. The interior door to the house was also slightly open with the lock broken.  
Out front, Ellen sighed and began to walk toward the walkway to the back.  
"Ellen, stop. We need to wait for Dean and Sam," Cas said, running after Ellen and grabbing her by the arm.  
Ellen spun around on her heel and looked at Cas. "You're an angel. I just got brought back from the dead. My house isn't that big, and I want to make sure they don't trigger any of my booby traps. The warding might be disabled, but I don't want them to get injured. We'll be fine."  
"Fair enough. Let's go," Cas shrugged and followed Ellen as she continued to the back yard.  
Sam and Dean were already inside, Sam was clearing the kitchen, while Dean was making his way back through the dining room after clearing the living room. Both brothers nodded at each other and began to head toward the stairs to the upstairs when Ellen and Cas came through the back door.  
Both Sam and Dean spun around and raised their guns, pointing them at Ellen and Cas. Sam exhaled sharply and lowered his gun, followed by Dean.  
"We almost shot you! What are you doing?" Dean whispered.  
"Making sure you don't die." Ellen hissed as she made her way over to the stairwell. She mumbled something in Latin and the stairs glowed light blue before dimming back to normal again.  
"What was that?" Sam whispered, tucking his pistol into the back of his pants.  
"Teleportation spell on the stairwell. If someone crosses it, they get teleported to the shed out back," Ellen motioned out the door to the back yard, "It has a false bottom that disappears when someone gets teleported. You'd fall about ten feet to the locked and warded basement. Wouldn't kill you. At least I don't think it would." She shrugged.  
"Right. Uhhh...thanks, I guess?" Dean mumbled, sliding his pistol into his jacket pocket.  
"The trap is still active and nobody is in the basement, so nobody's upstairs. I'll go up and check, make sure nothing is missing." Ellen said as she began her ascent up the stairs.  
"I'll come with. Just make sure you tell me if there's any more traps." Sam chuckled nervously and walked after Ellen.  
"Keep your hands to yourselves, up there!" Dean yelled playfully after Sam and Ellen disappeared up the stairs.  
"Okay, Dusty Hill!" Ellen yelled back before laughing.  
"Dusty Hill?" Cas looked at Dean confused.  
"He's the bassist in-"  
"ZZ Top. I know. Why did she call you that?" Cas asked.  
"She's making a beard joke. A bad one." Dean sighed and shook his head.  
"I was going to ask why you are growing a beard. Even in Purgatory you made sure to shave every day." Cas said as he walked over and sat on the edge of the couch.  
"I told Sam that I would shave if he cut his hair." Dean said proudly.  
"Why?" Cas asked, raising an eyebrow.  
"Because I'm the older brother and he knows I'm right." Dean narrowed his eyes at Cas.  
Cas raised his hands in surrender and sighed, looking around to avoid eye contact with Dean.

\---------------------

Ellen made her way to the door at the end of the hallway. They had already checked every other room and nothing was out of place or missing so far.  
"My bedroom. Last room." She pointed as she walked with Sam right behind her.  
"Are you trying to seduce me, Dr. Barnes?" Sam spoke softly before laughing.  
"I don't know, Mr. Winchester. Is it working?" Ellen spun around and pressed her palm against Sam's chest, looking up at him.  
Sam leaned down and captured Ellen's lips with his. He pulled back after a few moments and pressed his forehead to hers, inhaling deeply and exhaling quickly.  
"I'm really happy you're alright." Sam murmured.  
"Me too." Ellen smiled and pressed her lips to Sam's, letting her tongue dance along his bottom lip. Sam parted his lips and allowed Ellen's tongue to dance with his. Ellen softly giggled, causing Sam to break off the kiss and lean back.  
"What?" Sam asked, a smile tugging at his lips.  
"Joshua told me that you and Dean altered my destiny. I can honestly say I'm really glad you did." Ellen said, looking into Sam's eyes.  
"Sorry we got you killed." Sam shrugged his shoulders and smiled.  
Ellen chuckled and shook her head. "Not your fault. Dying and coming back...I guess that makes me a real hunter now, huh?"  
"I guess so." Sam laughed and followed Ellen as she walked into her bedroom.  
Ellen's eyes froze on a large box sitting on her bed. It was wrapped in plain brown paper and adorned with a few strands of twine, with a folded piece of paper tucked under one of the strands. Ellen looked up at Sam and pointed at the package, shaking her head. He nodded and cautiously stepped closer to it. When Sam stepped within five feet of the box, it slid across the bed about six inches away from him. He stepped closer again, and the box shifted away from him once more. He turned and looked at Ellen, shrugging.  
"It has your name on the tag. Maybe it's enchanted?" Sam said, stepping back next to Ellen.  
"Alright, let's see." She exhaled sharply and started walking toward the box. It stayed put and didn't move any farther off the bed when she approached it.  
She cautiously placed a hand on the box. Several runes appeared on the wrapping, glowed in orange, and faded away. "Looks like you were right."  
"Don't open it up here. Bring it downstairs and let Cas take a look at it, just in case," Sam said nodding his head back toward the stairs.  
"Sounds like a plan. Let's go." Ellen picked up the box and followed Sam back down the stairs.


	34. Chapter 34

"There is nothing malicious that I can sense, but I can't see what is on the inside." Cas explained, handing the package back to Ellen.  
"What does the tag say?" Dean asked, pointing to the small folded piece of paper tucked under one of the strands of twine.  
Ellen removed it and flipped it open. "I promise this is cryptic free. -J," she read out loud off the paper before smiling.  
"J? A friend of yours?" Sam asked, taking the paper from Ellen and reading it himself.  
"You could say that," Ellen smirked. "It's from Joshua."  
"The angel? What does he have a crush on you or something?" Dean grumbled as Ellen shot him a disapproving look. "What? Open it up, then."  
Ellen carefully slid her finger between the two layers in the wrapping on the bottom of the package and peeled it off. She crumpled the paper in her hand and flipped over the box. She set the box on the counter in her kitchen and removed the lid. Inside was a large blue pillow with simple swirls of embroidering around the edges.  
"A...pillow?" Ellen asked as she removed the pillow from the box and ran her hand over the front of it. "It feels so light and fluffy."  
"That's because it's full of angel feathers." Cas said matter-of-factly.  
Ellen's eyes lit up as she looked from Cas to the pillow and smiled. "Seriously? That's awesome!"  
Sam motioned at the pillow and Ellen handed it to him. He ran his hand over the pillow and smiled. "Soft. But why a pillow? That's a weird gift."  
"When we were looking for you, I mentioned that I wondered what a pillow made of angel feathers would feel like. I guess someone besides Cas and Dean were listening." Ellen smiled, then her eyes went wide and her smile faded. "Wait, do they listen all the time? Even when we were..." Ellen motioned between herself and Sam.  
"Angels have better things to do than watch humans have sex. It's quite mundane." Cas interrupted. "Joshua was probably watching when we were doing the location spell to find Aurriel. You mentioned the pillow shortly before that."  
"Oh. Right, I guess." Ellen raised an eyebrow at Cas as Sam passed the pillow to Dean. Dean ran his fingers over the pillow before smashing it into his face and breathing deeply.  
"Dean, if you're trying to smother yourself, there are easier ways." Ellen said as she carefully pried the pillow out of Dean's hands, causing him to groan and yawn.  
"I'm wiped. We should probably get going before I pass out in your living room. Unless you want to stay for a while, Sam." Dean winked at his brother and raised his eyebrows.  
"Knock it off, Dean." Sam scolded.   
"It's fine, Sam. I'm sure this won't be the last time I'll be seeing any of you." Ellen giggled, setting the pillow on the chair in her living room. "I might need your help finding a new secretary that won't try to kill me."  
Sam smiled and nodded. "Absolutely. And you let us know if you need anything."  
"As long as you promise to not get in our heads." Dean added.  
Ellen smiled at Dean and nodded, stepping closer to him. "My offer still stands, Dean. If you ever need anyone to talk to, you know my number and where I'll be." She whispered.  
"If the world ever runs out of whiskey, I'll be there, Doc." Dean smiled.  
Ellen shook her head and walked with the boys as they made their way to her front door. Dean opened the door and stepped out with Cas behind him. Sam lingered in the doorway for a moment before turning to Ellen.  
"Stay in touch. If you ever need anything, I'll be there. We'll be there." Sam said, smiling at Ellen.  
Ellen nodded and leaned up, pressing her lips to Sam's cheek. "Go. Before Dean leaves without you."  
Sam laughed softly and ran his hand up and down Ellen's upper arm before stepping through the door and down the stairs to the Impala. He passed Cas, who was on his way back to the door with Purrito in his arms.  
"Here is the feline, Ellen. Please take good care of him." Cas said as he passed the cat to Dr. Barnes.  
"If you ever want to come back and visit him, you can. I think he likes you." Ellen said right as Purrito meowed at Cas.  
"Thank you. Be safe, Ellen." Cas said with a smile as he turned and walked back down the stairs.  
Ellen sighed and leaned against the door frame, watching Sam and Cas as they maneuvered themselves into the Impala. Dean started the engine and put the car into drive before all three of them waved at her as they pulled away from the curb. Ellen waved back before she ran her hand down Purrito's back. She smiled, stepped back inside, and closed the door.

\--------------------

The six hour drive back to the bunker passed quickly, aside from some moderate rush-hour traffic slowing them down. Dean pulled the Impala into the garage and parked, shutting the engine off.  
"I'm just saying, what's the problem with-" Cas began.  
"No, Cas. For the last time no. I appreciate you fixing my allergy, but we're not getting a cat for the bunker. We're gone for weeks at a time and nobody would be around to take care of it. If you had your wings, maybe...but you're grounded. So, no cat." Dean grumbled as he opened the trunk and removed his duffel bag, tossing Sam his, and shutting the trunk again.  
"As much as I love cats, Dean has a point, Cas. We can't leave a cat here for weeks at a time. Unless they have a spell for feeding a cat regularly, it wouldn't work." Sam shrugged.  
"I will research it immediately." Cas smiled and ran down the stairs of the garage to the library.  
"Cas...wait. You-" Dean sighed heavily and rolled his eyes before turning to Sam. "Really, Sam?"  
Sam smiled and shrugged before turning and walking down the stairs on his way to his room.

\--------------------

A few hours had passed before Sam emerged from his room on his way to the bathroom. Dean was stumbling down the hallway from the library on the way to his room, pausing every few seconds to steady himself on the wall.  
"Jeeze, Dean. How much did you drink?" Sam said, reaching forward to grab Dean's arm to steady him.  
"Enough to numb it all, Sammy." Dean mumbled and smiled.  
"Alright, let's get you to bed before you pass out in the hallway." Sam sighed and wrapped his arm around Dean's torso to support his weight. He walked a little bit further down the hallway to Dean's room and pushed the door open.  
"Mhm." Dean grumbled as he went limp in Sam's arms.   
Sam groaned, caught Dean before he hit the floor, and shuffled over to Dean's bed. He flopped Dean on the bed on his back and sighed. Sam rolled his eyes and walked back out into the hallway, closing the door behind him.  
Sam finally made it to the bathroom and took a shower. Once he finished, he made his way over to the sink and wiped the fog away from the mirror. He brushed his hair and ran his electric razor over the stubble on his face. He narrowed his eyes on the electric razor before a mischievous smile made its way across his face.

\--------------------

The following morning, Dean groaned as he blinked his eyes open. His head was throbbing, prompting him to rub his forehead with his hand. He paused momentarily as he noticed a gob of something white on his hand. He squinted his eyes at the substance and blinked a few times, before the realization and smell hit him. Shaving cream.  
Dean leapt out of bed and stumbled over to the mirror in his room. He ran his hand along his face, gawking at his reflection. His beard was gone completely and there was still some shaving cream on the left side of his face.  
"SAAAAAMMMMMM?!" Dean yelled, his voice echoing through the halls of the bunker.  
Sam was sitting in the kitchen on his laptop eating corn flakes as he heard his brother yell. He smiled and laughed quietly to himself as he took and chewed a spoonful of cereal.

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fanfic, and I'm brand new on the scene. I'd love some constructive feedback and general advice for someone just starting out. Thanks!


End file.
